On 16 December 1939, the first group of twelve women pilots were assembled at Whitchurch, and flight-tested in a Gypsy Moth.
From this group of twelve, eight were selected and appointed as second officers.
Marion Wilberforce was one of these.
These women were tasked with the hazardous job of ferrying all types of aircraft from factories to aircraft storage units and despatch points, and on to operational stations.
When she joined the ATA she had flown 900 hours.
By March 1943 she had flown one thousand and eight hundred hours more.

She was first deputy and then commanding officer of the inaugural women's Ferry Pool at Hatfield, and in 1943 became commander of the No 12 Ferry Pool at Cosford, one of only two women pool commanders in the whole ATA.

On one occasion she arrived at a factory to discover that the employees were on strike and that the aircraft that she had been sent to collect could not be released.
She went to the canteen, stood on a table and gave a resounding speech about the war effort.
This secured the release of her aircraft.

One of her colleagues was Amy Johnson, the woman aviator who drowned in the Thames whilst on a mission.
Marion Wilberforce, who knew her well, was often asked for recollections of her, which irritated her since she considered her to be overrated and a poor flyer prone to panic.
 She did not say this in public.

Initially due to the prejudice encountered from male colleagues the ATA women flew non operational aircraft but by mid-1941 Marion Wilberforce was flying operational machines including Hurricanes and Spitfires which she piloted as a matter of course.
The first Spitfire she flew was donated by the citizens of Grimsby and accordingly called Grimsby II.
During 1942 she mastered the whole gamut of twin-engined medium bombers including the Wellington and Mosquito.
Two years later she became one of only eleven women pilots trained to fly four-engined bombers such as the Lancaster.
By the end of the War she had flown most of the one hundred and thirty aircraft flown by members of the ATA.
In the early days she also had to fly civilian aircraft that had been impressed, including her own Hornet Moth which was later lost on a reconnaissance flight.

Aircraft piloted by her ended up in South Africa, North East India, Ceylon, the Middle East and Russia.
They were otherwise variously used for the invasion of Madagascar, for bomber crew training, anti-submarine duties, air sea rescue and the spectacular attack on the Gestapo Headquarters in Oslo in 1942.
On 27 October 1944 she delivered to Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton a particularly interesting Lancaster which was to be fitted with the company's first axial flow turbojet.
This was the forerunner of the modern day jet fighter.
On some days she would ferry as many as four different aircraft, hopping from one aerodrome to another, and in the second half of 1944 alone she effected 114 deliveries.

At the cessation of hostilities she flew to Europe with the ATA Air Movements flight, going as far afield as Pilsen in Czechoslovakia.
On 16 December 1939, the first group of twelve women pilots were assembled at Whitchurch, and flight-tested in a Gypsy Moth. From this group of twelve, eight were selected and appointed as second officers. Marion Wilberforce was one of these. These women were tasked with the hazardous job of ferrying all types of aircraft from factories to aircraft storage units and despatch points, and on to operational stations. When she joined the ATA she had flown 900 hours. By March 1943 she had flown one thousand and eight hundred hours more.
She was first deputy and then commanding officer of the inaugural women's Ferry Pool at Hatfield, and in 1943 became commander of the No 12 Ferry Pool at Cosford, one of only two women pool commanders in the whole ATA.
On one occasion she arrived at a factory to discover that the employees were on strike and that the aircraft that she had been sent to collect could not be released. She went to the canteen, stood on a table and gave a resounding speech about the war effort. This secured the release of her aircraft.
One of her colleagues was Amy Johnson, the woman aviator who drowned in the Thames whilst on a mission. Marion Wilberforce, who knew her well, was often asked for recollections of her, which irritated her since she considered her to be overrated and a poor flyer prone to panic.  She did not say this in public.
Initially due to the prejudice encountered from male colleagues the ATA women flew non operational aircraft but by mid-1941 Marion Wilberforce was flying operational machines including Hurricanes and Spitfires which she piloted as a matter of course. The first Spitfire she flew was donated by the citizens of Grimsby and accordingly called Grimsby II. During 1942 she mastered the whole gamut of twin-engined medium bombers including the Wellington and Mosquito. Two years later she became one of only eleven women pilots trained to fly four-engined bombers such as the Lancaster. By the end of the War she had flown most of the one hundred and thirty aircraft flown by members of the ATA. In the early days she also had to fly civilian aircraft that had been impressed, including her own Hornet Moth which was later lost on a reconnaissance flight.
Aircraft piloted by her ended up in South Africa, North East India, Ceylon, the Middle East and Russia. They were otherwise variously used for the invasion of Madagascar, for bomber crew training, anti-submarine duties, air sea rescue and the spectacular attack on the Gestapo Headquarters in Oslo in 1942. On 27 October 1944 she delivered to Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton a particularly interesting Lancaster which was to be fitted with the company's first axial flow turbojet. This was the forerunner of the modern day jet fighter. On some days she would ferry as many as four different aircraft, hopping from one aerodrome to another, and in the second half of 1944 alone she effected 114 deliveries.
At the cessation of hostilities she flew to Europe with the ATA Air Movements flight, going as far afield as Pilsen in Czechoslovakia.
Marion Wilberforce