RAeC 1930

The daughter of Sir Kenneth Irwin, 2nd Baronet Crossley, Chairman of the Crossley Car and Engineering companies in Manchester.

In 1919, the Crossley family moved to Combermere Abbey, Whitchurch, Shropshire and her father held the offices of High Sheriff and Justice of the Peace for Cheshire. These days, although it continues in private ownership, Combermere Abbey ‘welcomes visitors in groups or on specific days by appointment’. It has been described as ‘one of the most romantic places in Europe’ .

Gained her pilot’s licence in 1930. She only competed in the King’s Cup once - in 1931, when she was the only woman competitor to finish, a gallant 20th out of the 21 finishers (another 20 dropped out on the way, don't forget).

August 1931 found her in Dublin; "Among the visitors was one who deserved especial mention, and that was the intrepid Miss Crossley, who put up such a fine show in the recent King's Cup race. She flew the long way round, and is now continuing to tour the country."

In 1932, she visited India, where "we hear she has been doing a considerable amount of flying." In fact, she competed in the Viceroy Cup (India's version of the King's Cup) with 5 other English pilots and 6 from India.

She also competed in several other races and gatherings, e.g.

• Ladies event at Reading (May, 1931) - the other competitors were Amy Johnson, Pauline Gower, Dorothy Spicer, Gabrielle Burr (Patterson), Susan Slade, and Winifred Spooner - a historic gathering indeed.

• London-Newcastle, August 1932, in Comper Swift G-ABUA; finished 11th of 18
• Yorkshire Tophy Race, September 1932 (not placed);
• Heston-Cardiff, October 1932, also in Comper Swift G-ABUA; finished 3rd of 9
• the second 'Bienvenue Aerienne' in France (July 1934)

Delia with C C Grey (editor of 'The Aeroplane'), Mrs Grey, Connie Leathart and others.

She also entered her Comper Swift in the 1932 King's Cup Race, but withdrew before the start, and seems to have retired from air racing in 1935.

On the outbreak of WWII, Delia became an ambulance driver for the London County Council, but then applied for a job as a ferry pilot for the ATA. She started as a Second Officer on the 16th December 1940, but suffered a bout of 'corozyia' (presumably coryza, i.e. catarrhal inflammation of the mucous membrane in the nose) which kept her out for 6 weeks in October/November 1941, so that she didn't complete her training and start at a Ferry Pool until December 1941.

A few weeks later, on the 11th Januuary 1942, she had an accident in a Hurricane; when landing in bad weather, she overshot and went through a hedge. She was considered to be at fault, having 'persisted too far in bad weather and had to land in conditions which were too difficult for her', and her contract was terminated a couple of weeks later.

She married Geza O Schubert in September 1949.

Fidelia’s de Havilland D.H. 60G Gipsy Moth G-AAKC (seen here behind G-AACY) was first registered in July 1929, and she bought it from Malcolm Campbell Ltd, the Moth distributors for the UK. She eventually passed it to her father, and it was then sold in South Africa in 1937.

Her Comper Swift was first registered in February 1932 to  J D M Gray, and she sold it to Arthur H Cook (q.v.). It ended up in Indonesia.

d. c.1980

... and there's a splendid page about 'Combermere's Pioneering Aviatrix Delia Crossley' here, written by the archivist at Combermere Abbey.

 Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):