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Jim Mollison

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For other people named James Mollison, seeJames Mollison (disambiguation).

Jim Mollison
MBE
Black and white photograph of Mollison taken in 1936. He is looking into the camera, wearing a suit, shirt, tie and flying helmet. He is standing in front of an aeroplane near its propeller.
Mollison atFloyd Bennett Field,1936, and hisBellanca 28-90.
Born(1905-04-19)19 April 1905
Glasgow,Scotland
Died30 October 1959(1959-10-30)(aged 54)
London, England
OccupationAviator
SpouseAmy Johnson(m. 1932; div. 1938)

James Allan MollisonMBE(19 April 1905 – 30 October 1959) was a Scottish pioneer aviator who, flying solo or with his wife,Amy Johnson,set many records during the rapid development of aviation in the 1930s.

Early years

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Mollison was born on 19 April 1905 inGlasgow,the only child of Hector Alexander Mollison, a consultant engineer, and Thomasina Macnee Addie (d.1965). He was educated atThe Glasgow AcademyandEdinburgh Academy.[1]He was attracted at an early age to flying. Obtaining hisRoyal Air Force(RAF) Short Service Commission at 18, he was the youngest officer in the service and, upon completion of training, was posted to India, flying on active service inWaziristan.[2]

Aviation career

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At the age of 22, Mollison became a flying instructor at theCentral Flying School(CFS), again setting the record for being the youngest in this role. Shortly after, he transferred to the RAF Reserve and devoted his time to civil aviation. In 1928–29, he worked as an instructor with the South Australian Aero Club in Adelaide, leaving that position to become a pilot withEyre Peninsular AirwaysandAustralian National Airways.[2]

Whilst gaining a reputation as a playboy, Mollison was a skilled pilot who, like many others, took to record breaking as a means of "making his name". In July to August 1931, he set a record time of 8 days, 19 hours for a flight from Australia to England and, in March 1932, a record for flying from England toCape Town,South Africain 4 days, 17 hours.[3]

Mollison had flown commercially forCharles Kingsford Smith's ill-fatedAustralian National Airways.During one of his commercial flights, he met the equally famous aviatorAmy Johnson,to whom he proposed only eight hours after meeting, and while still in the air. Johnson accepted; they married in July 1932, and she went off to break her husband's England to South Africa record. They were dubbedThe Flying Sweetheartsby the press and public.

Mollison continued to attempt aviation records. On 18 August 1932 he made an east-to-west solo trans-Atlanticflight of 31 hours, fromPortmarnock,Ireland toPennfield,New Brunswick, Canada, using ade Havilland Puss Mothcalled "The Heart's Content". In 1933, using the same aircraft, Mollison flew from England to Brazil in 3 days, 13 hours, staging through West Africa, the first solo east-west South Atlantic crossing.[4]By then, he and his wife began to plan a record-breaking flight across the world. On 22 July 1933, they took off fromPendine SandsinSouth Waleson a non-stop flight toNew York,but were forced to crash land inBridgeport, Connecticut,just short of their target, after running out of fuel. He and his wife were both injured, and the plane broken apart by souvenir seekers.

In October 1934 the Mollisons took part inMacRobertson Air Race.Theirde Havilland DH.88CometBlack Magicled the competitors off the line and was leading atBaghdad,but they were forced to retire atAllahabadafter having to use non-aviation fuel, which damaged their engines.

In November 1936 Mollison made his last major record attempt, a flight fromCroydonto Cape Town, South Africa. This time he flew with a co-pilot, French aviatorÉdouard Corniglion-Molinier.The attempt ended with a forced landing some 160 km short of Cape Town.[5]

The Mollisons' marriage had become strained; they were rivals for the same aviation records and Mollison was at times a heavy drinker. They divorced in 1938 and Amy Mollison resumed her maiden name.

World War II

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Both Johnson and Mollison eventually served in theAir Transport Auxiliary(ATA) inWorld War II.Johnson was killed while ferrying an aircraft in 1941. A notable incident occurred when Mollison flew as a co-pilot withDiana Barnato Walker.TheirAnsonwas intercepted and shot at byLuftwaffefighters. Although the aircraft was hit, the 12 passengers and crew were unhurt. On landing, Mollison's only concern was "how to get a cup of tea!"[6]

In June 1941 Mollison and an ATA crew deliveredCunliffe-Owen OA-1G-AFMB toFort Lamy,Chad. The aircraft was fitted out as a personal transport forGeneral De Gaulle.[7]Jim Mollison was made aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)for his services with the ATA.[8]

Postwar

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Mollison later settled in London and ran apublic house.He married Maria Clasina E. Kamphuis on 26 September 1949 at theMaidenheadRegister Office.

Mollison abused alcohol and, in 1953, theCivil Aviation Authority Medical Boardrevoked his pilot's licence. The couple separated but Maria bought the Carisbrooke Hotel inSurbitonfor him – a temperance hotel.

Suffering from acutealcoholism,he was admitted toThe Priory,Roehampton,south-west London, where he died on 30 October 1959.[1]

Legacy

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Locality Street name Connection
Enfield Mollison Avenue Weston Aerospace premises
Edgware Mollison Way Former runway ofStag Lane Aerodrome
Wallington Mollison Drive & Mollison Square Former site of Beddington Aerodrome (seeCroydon Airport)
Gravesend Mollison Rise Near site of formerRAF Gravesend
Woodley Mollison Close Former site of Woodley Airfield
Meir Mollison Road Near site of Meir Aerodrome

Also - Mildenhall, Suffolk. Jim Mollison Court (social housing). Close to Mildenhall airfield, the start for the 1934 England-Australia Air Race, that the Mollison's took part in.

References

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Notes

  1. ^abMatthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004)."The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. ref:odnb/35055.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35055.Retrieved2 January2020.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  2. ^abAitken 1991, p. 343.
  3. ^De Vries, G.Wingfield. A Pictorial History1991 pp. 65–66 with photos.ISBN0620159391
  4. ^Eden, P. E.Civil Aircraft 1907–Present2012 pp. 47–48ISBN978-1908696649
  5. ^Will, G.The Great Atlantic Air Race2011 pp. 158–159ISBN978-1847172310
  6. ^Diana Barnato Walker
  7. ^Aeroplane MonthlyJune 2006 p.95 with two bw plates
  8. ^Cheesman, E. C.Brief Glory: The Story of A.T.A.Leicester: Harborough Publishing, 1946 p. 220

Bibliography

  • Aitken, Kenneth. "James Allan Mollison (The Speed Seekers)."Aeroplane Monthly,Vol. 19, No. 6, Issue no. 218, June 1991.
  • Luff, David (1993).Mollison, The Flying Scotsman: The Life of Pioneer Aviator James Allan Mollison.Smithsonian Institution Press.ISBN1-56098-621-2.

Further reading

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  • Moolman, Valerie.Women Aloft(The Epic of Flight). Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1981.ISBN0-8094-3287-0.
  • Nesbitt, Roy. "What did Happen to Amy Johnson?"Aeroplane Monthly(Part 1) Vol. 16, no. 1, January 1988, (Part 2) Vol. 16, no. 2, February 1988.
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