Unseen photo of pioneering pilot discovered

A photographer says he believes he has uncovered a previously unseen picture of the pioneering pilot Amy Johnson.

Matthew Lamb from Hull says he thinks the photograph shows Johnson sitting in a Cirrus II Moth plane alongside her flying instructor, Captain Valentine Baker, during the first few months of her flying lessons in the late 1920s.

Lamb bought the photograph as part of a collection and has donated a copy to Sewerby Hall and Gardens, near Bridlington, to feature in its Amy Johnson memorabilia collection.

Lamb said: "I'd like to get as many eyes on it as possible, really. And if anyone else knows any more than what I've been able to find, then fantastic."

Johnson was born in Hull in 1903 and became the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. She died in a plane crash while flying for the Air Transport Auxiliary in 1941.

Lamb said he thought the photograph was taken between late 1928 and early 1929 at Stag Lane Aerodrome in North London.

"For me it was a case of starting almost from scratch. I actually picked up a book on Amy Johnson.

"I was able to go through the chapters. It'd give me a specific date and it would say, OK, on this date, this was when this flight lesson happened."

He said he believed the photo was a "rarity", due to it being a "behind the scenes" shot.

"The one thing that struck me was there aren't many pictures pre-1930 that you tend to see. Before she had a licence, before the records, it's possibly one of the first few times she was ever actually on a plane."

Dr David Marchant, museums and archives manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, described the image as "really special" and confirmed he had not seen it published anywhere previously.

He said: "We have very little early materials, so it's really nice to see that and to have access to the digital image for future use.

"She's very much an important local heritage figure."

Sewerby Hall and Gardens began its collection of Amy Johnson memorabilia in 1958, after her parents donated items they had gathered over the years.

It has grown to about 600 items, and includes the CBE she was awarded for her flight to Australia.

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