Cecile Hamilton, January 13, 1936, Location Unknown (Source: Getty Images)

Cecile Hamilton, at age 19, looks at us from the photograph at right. She learned to fly in England in 1934, and was the first American woman to earn a flight certification there. Compared to her peers in our Registers, she was a relative latecomer to Golden Age aviation.

A simple 3x5 card record from ancestry.com, below, documented her certification on May 25, 1934. Her training was completed at Heston Airport, which was operational during the Golden Age from 1929-1947.

Cecile Hamilton, Pilot Training Record, May 25, 1934 (Source: ancestry.com)

Of interest, was a round-the-world flight made by sister Register pilot, Lady Mary Victor Bruce, which began at Heston on September 25, 1930. Lady Bruce landed earlier at Tucson Monday, January 19, 1931 while enroute.

Of further interest is the person who earned his pilot certification around the same time she did, and was assigned the certification number just ahead of her's. He was the Earl of Essex, pictured below along with Hamilton. These photos were found in the book which documented the Avro Club's graduates. As best I can tell, the Earl was Reginald George de Vere Capell, 9th Earl of Essex (October 9, 1906 – May 18, 1981). If you have other information, please let me KNOW.

Cecile Hamilton, Pilot Training Mug Shot, May 25, 1934 (Source: ancestry.com)

Hamilton was born January 27, 1915 in Chicago, IL, thus making her just 19 years old in the photo above. The 1920 U.S. Census, her first, listed the family living at 6233 Ellis Avenue, Chicago. Her father was Archibald MacDougall Hamilton, a second-generation American with roots in Scotland. He was coded on the Census form as a "Mail Order Lawyer." He would later join a legal firm in Chicago. Her mother was Betty Louise Woolever (1887-1945). Cecile (age 4) had an older sister, Jean (7), and a younger brother, Archibald, Jr. (1).

By the 1930 Census, Archibald was divorced and living with his brother in Buffalo, IL, just west of Springfield, where they were partners in a farm. By the time of the 1930 Census, her mother was remarried to a man named Arthur Selzer (1881-1930) and they lived in New Jersey. Mr. Selzer died of a cerebral hemorrage on May 25, 1930, about a month after the Census was recorded.

August 27, 1935 Corsicana Light (TX) (Source: newspapers.com)

Dixon Evening Telegraph (IL), February 6, 1935 (Source: newspapers.com)

I found no 1930 Census information for Cecile. Perhaps, in the flurry of household moves and emotions caused by her parents' divorce, she was sent to the U.K.before the Census was taken in order to stay with her father's kin. Just a guess. Regardless, she was very young.

Although I do not know when she traveled to England, ancestry.com exhibits a passenger list for the S.S. Champlain, which documents her return to the U.S. from Plymouth, England on October 24, 1934, about five months after she earned her flight certificate at Heston. About four months after her arrival from England, she visited her father at Polo, IL about 100 miles west of Chicago. I do not know when her father moved there. The local newspaper, above right, documented her visit. It seems she was enroute to Los Angeles on United Airways to work on her commercial pilot certification.

For a person who entered so late into the Golden Age flying game, she appeared to advance steadily in notoriety. The year after she earned her pilot certificate, Cecile was the 4th place winner in the Ruth Chatterton Sportsman Pilot trophy Race at the 1935 National Air Races in Cleveland, OH, August 30-September 2nd. She won $100 for her effort.

Her standing in the race was summarized at Tucson in the August 27, 1935 Corsicana Light (TX), left. She did not sign the Register on her 8/26 visit. Of the other pilots mentioned in the article, only Hicks and Woodson signed the Register, albeit on dates that did not coincide with the Chatterton event. Interestingly, Woodson landed earlier in 1932 carrying passenger Barry Goldwater.

In case you thought Hamilton was an uninteresting pilot despite her early exploits, the El Paso Herald-Post (TX), August 23, 1935, below, described her clothing during the Chatterton event.

El Paso Herald-Post (TX), August 23, 1935 (Source: newspapers.com)

The fact that she wore shorts in the cockpit was notable to the author of the article. One can hope that she framed her comment, "I've only been flying a short time..." by sneering at the reporter and placing vocal emphasis on "short." It shouldn't be surprising that I have never found a news article from the era that made comments about a male pilot's wardrobe. You can see another fashion show at Ruth Elder.

Further, the article below from the El Paso Herald a few days later revisited her shorts in a more prolix manner. It seems "B.L" was also an expert in female fingernail fashion.

Oakland Tribune, August 28, 1935 (Source: newspapers.com)

At right, the Oakland Tribune of August 28, 1935 provided a photograph capturing the shorts. The airplane behind her is the Aeronca she flew through Tucson (see below).

Through the rest of the 1930s and into the 1960s Hamilton appeared frequently in newspapers across the country. They reported mostly of her civic, writing and flying activities. Lead sentences in the articles often alluded to her being the youngest transport pilot in the U.S. Other articles are exibited below.

The next one continues in the vein of sexism she experienced, not because of comments published by a journalist, but by someone who annotated the news clipping. This undated article (ca. 1938-1948?) shows her as a confident pilot, striding to an airplane, carrying a parachute, with an eye on the sky. The photo caption is descriptive, factual and complimentary. The empennage identiies the airplane as NC18478, a 1938 Stinson SR-10, which, according to the FAA record, was destroyed in 1948. Some wag just had to write at the bottom, "Nice tail."

Hamilton landed just once at Tucson, Monday September 16, 1935 at 12:15PM. She flew the Aeronca C-3 (S/N A-564) she identified as NC14693. In the Register she identified her homebase as Glendale, CA. She arrived solo at Tucson from Cleveland. Her destination was written in the Register as Glendale.

1936 Aeronca C-3 Type (Source: Web)

The Aeronca C-3 type for the model year 1936 is pictured at right. You can understand why the C-3 was sometimes called the "flying bathtub." According to an email I received fom John Underwood, the Aeronca was owned by fellow Register pilot Joe Plosser. She had flown Plosser's Aeronca from Glendale to Cleveland and back, a chore by any measure. Her flight through Tucson was probably her return home from the Cleveland Races. The Aeronca's 200 mile range and 65MPH cruise speed must have made this a grueling round-trip, even for a woman in her early 20s.

Salt Lake City Tribune (UT), October 21, 1935 (Source: newspapers.com)

Bristol Daily Courier (PA), January 23, 1936 (Source: newspapers.com)

Besides the August 1935 Chatterton race documented above, Hamilton competed in a much shorter Los Angeles to San Diego race in October. The Salt Lake City Tribune (UT), October 21, 1935, left, reported the event. While Hamilton placed third, the race was won by fellow Register pilot Bessie Owen who lived in Santa Barbara at the time.

Three months later, Hamilton made the news again for her flight instruction activity. The Bristol Daily Courier (PA), January 23, 1936 reported, right, the interest of "aviation-crazy Hollywood" in learning to fly.

Yukon Oklahoma Sun, February 13, 1936 (Source: newspapers.com)

A month later, the Yukon Oklahoma Sun, February 13, 1936 reported that she earned her commercial transport license, left. The two gentlemen illustrated another, unrelated, article.

The San Pedro News-Pilot (CA), February 18, 1936 also picked up the story with a different photograph, below left.

Decatur Herald (IL), May 23, 1936 (Source: newspapers.com)

San Pedro News-Pilot (CA), February 18, 1936 (Source: newspapers.com)

And four months later another article appeared with her instructing multiple Hollywood starlets, right, from the Decatur Herald (IL), May 23, 1936.

Hammond Times (IN), February 15, 1937 (Source: newspapers.com)

That she walked the aviation talk was evidenced by a short article that appeared in the Hammond Times (IN), February 15, 1937, right. She encouraged women, if they didn't learn to fly themselves, to at least familiarize themselves with aviation.

Hamilton also entered the 1936 Chatterton race. Her participation was documented in the Los Angeles Times, August 26, 1936, below. None of her co-competitors signed any Register, but down in the last sentence is mentioned George Noville.

Los Angeles Times, August 26, 1936 (Source: Web)

Hammond Times (IN), November 23, 1939 (Source: newspapers.com)

Eleanor Roosevelt published a daily syndicated news column entitled My Day six days a week from 1935 to 1962. Her November 22, 1939 column was published on November 23, 1939 in the Reading Times (PA), right. It documents insights during her luncheon with Cecile Hamilton.

At its height the column appeared in 90 papers in all parts of the nation, providing Roosevelt with a reading audience of 4,034,552. Roosevelt did not keep a diary, therefore her My Day columns helped readers understand whom she met, where she traveled, what she thought, why she reached that opinion, and how she handled the pressures of public life.

Knoxville Journal, March 4, 1943 (Source: newspapers.com)

A few years later, during WWII, a column in the Knoxville Journal, March 4, 1943 followed up on Roosevelt's My Day discussion, left. I do not know if anything came of Hamilton's efforts, but the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) "instructed male pilot cadets" ca. 1942.

Sunbury Daily Item (PA), February 28, 1945 (Source: newspapers.com)

Near the end of WWII Hamilton took a job as associate aviation editor with the New York Herald-Tribune. The Sunbury Daily Item (PA), February 28, 1945, right, cited her work. Her assignment this day was public speaking.

During WWII, Hamilton was among the cadre of speakers for the Washington (DC) Speakers Bureau. Her topics included "What of American Airpower?" and "Woman's Place in National Defense." She was described in the Bureau's brochure as a, "Charming and Dynamic Speaker." The brochure also exhibited a short biography, below.

Today, the Washington Speaker's Bureau features such women as Ariana Huffington, Janet Yellen and Theresa May.

Freeport Journal - Standard (IL), September 6, 1946 (Source: newspapers.com)

About a year after the end of WWII, Hamilton again visited her father in Polo, IL. Her visit was documented in the Freeport Journal - Standard (IL), September 6, 1946, right.

In 1946, her father founded an airport in Polo and joined his daughter in aviation life, albeit a decade after she earned her first pilot certificate.

Today, there are two airfields officially listed for the Polo area, Hammer Airport and Gentry Airport. Both are dirt or turf strips visible on Google Earth. I am not sure which of them was Hamilton's, if either. If you can shed light, please let me KNOW.

A few months later, an immigration form documented her travel from London via Gander, Newfoundland to New York, below. She flew in NC90922, a Lockheed Constellation operated by American Airlines. Her occupation was listed as "Editor."

Immigration Form, February 14, 1947 (Source: ancestry.com)

Lockheed Constellation NC90922, 1946 (Source: Web)

I found similar immigration forms for August 10, 1947 (Bermuda to Baltimore) and September 8, 1947 (Gander to New York).

Dixon Telegraph, June 13, 1947 (Source:
newspapers.com)

During the summer she visited her father again as reported in the Dixon Telegraph, June 13, 1947, left. Her experiences in airport management and development cited in the earlier article at right were probably put to good use in the business.

The little bit of information I have about Hamilton from the 1950s has to do with her employment by Flying magazine as assistant to the editor Gill Robb Wilson. Wilson was a pilot, but signed none of our Registers.

The May 1952 issue was the first to include Hamilton in her asistant role. For example, the banner for the December 1952 issue of Flying is below. Editorial offices were in New York City at that time. Advisory Board member Hugh Knerr was a Register pilot.

Flying Magazine, December 1952 (Source: Web)

In the same issue, Hamilton published an article about the Polo, IL airport (PDF 177kB) operated by her and her father. The article focused on the airport's Civil Air Patrol activities and how important they were to national vigilance during the then developing Cold War. She wrote, "In studying the difficulties of their undertaking, it would seem to this writer that Air Force ad Civil Defense officials would do well to study the Polo story and that of other grass roots communities. Here is embattled civilian America, ready and able to make common cause against aggression."

Hagerstown Daily Mail (MD), August 19, 1953 (Source: newspapers.com)

The Hagerstown Daily Mail (MD), August 19, 1953, left, juxtaposed Hamilton with a Turkish WWII pilot at an unidentified social event. Since she was employed by Flying at this time, this was probably a magazine function.

A decade later, the Freeport Journal-Standard (IL), February 20,1961, documented her travel to New York and to St. Louis to attend the National Pilots Association convention for which she chaired a subsection.

Hagerstown Daily Mail (MD), February 20, 1961 (Source: newspapers.com)

A few months later, the Freeport Journal-Standard (IL), below, discussed with her, on April 14, 1961, her current point in life after a quarter-century in aviation. One of her comments has philosophical currency today, even 60 years later: "I realized then that aviation is a measure of tomorrow. From the air, there are no boundaries between countries and their varying ideologies, no social or economic barriers. From this vantage point, you realize that we're all really one,"

The Freeport Journal-Standard (IL), April 14, 1961 (Source: newspapers.com)

Obituary, Archibald Hamilton, June 10, 1966 (Source: newspapers.com)

Archibald Hamilton's obituary in the Dixon (IL) Evening Telegraph, June 10, 1966, left, cited his founding in 1946 of the airport at Polo. His obituary suggests he was a pilot, but I know nothing about when or where he learned the art. His obituary mentions his daughters Jean and Cecile, but not his son or his wife.

A news article above stated Hamilton worked for Flying magazine from 1952-59. Apparently she moved up in the magazine hierarchy against a glass ceiling. About two years after joining Flying, in February 1954, she was promoted to Managing Editor. But, she left the magazine in November 1959 with the same title.

As well as her executive responsibilities, she wrote many articles for Flying during her tenure. Her final Flying article in October 1959 (PDF 2.7mB) documented the June 1959 trans-Atlantic flight she made with Jerrie Cobb mentioned in the April 14, 1961 article, above.

Cecile Hamilton flew West on March 6, 1996, age 81, from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Her obituary in the South Florida Sun Sentinel was a simple three-line entry published March 8th.

Dossier 2.4.5

---o0o---

THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 12/05/19 REVISED: