Aussie pilot gifts Amy Johnson artefacts to Sewerby Hall collection

In 1930, the Hull-born aviator made headlines around the world after breaking the record for a solo air flight to Australia in Jason, her Gypsy Moth plane.

Aviation was still in its infancy and Amy - just 27 - wasn’t only a pioneering pilot, she was also a woman in what was very much a man’s world.

On her return she was laden with honours, including a CBE from King George V and gold medals from both the Royal Aero Club and the Society of Engineers, becoming one of the most famous women in the world.

Johnson’s original Hull Aero Club membership certificate, along with a copy of her pilot’s licence, a pin badge in the form of her plane Jason, and some newspaper cuttings were donated to the collection by Christine Farrell .

An Australian by birth, Ms Farrell had a life-long interest in Amy Johnson and was a pilot herself, learning to fly helicopters in her 40s and setting up her own helicopter company in Canberra.

Museums registrar Dr David Marchant said: “By a strange coincidence, these items were bought at the same Christie’s auction in London in 1995 when the council was able to acquire Amy’s spare canvas flying helmet and a set of goggles.

"Another person bought the original pilot’s licence, which, as far as we know, is still in a private collection.

"It’s great that these items have now found their way to us.”

The certificate and the pin badge are now on display in the Amy Johnson room alongside other exhibits including Amy’s flying bag, containing many personal belongings – which was retrieved from the Thames Estuary after she died in a plane crash in 1941.