London (CNN) Mary Ellis, a "pioneering aviator" who was one of the last surviving female World War II pilots, has died at the age of 101. Ellis helped deliver Spitfires and bombers to the front line as part of the UK's Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during the war. UK Air Chief Marshal Stephen Hillier mourned her on Twitter. Another terrible loss. Mary Ellis, pioneering female aviator, Air Transport Auxiliary veteran, an inspiration to generations. I'll always remember her proudly reminding us at RAF100 events that she was older than the RAF itself! RIP Mary. pic.twitter.com/xktUU6R7Qn — ACM Stephen Hillier (@ChiefofAirStaff) July 26, 2018 "Another terrible loss," Hillier wrote. "Mary Ellis, pioneering female aviator, Air Transport Auxiliary veteran, an inspiration to generations. I'll always remember her proudly reminding us at RAF100 events that she was older than the RAF itself! RIP Mary." Ellis, then Mary Wilkins, joined the ATA in 1941 after hearing a radio commercial. She flew around 1,000 planes over four years including 400 Spitfires and 47 Wellington bombers. Read More<doc-sep>Mary Ellis, who played a vital part in defeating Germany in the battle for Britain’s skies during World War II, has died at 101. Ellis, one of the last surviving female aviators from the United Kingdom’s wartime forces, delivered fighters and bombers in her job with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which called up women in 1941 due to a shortage of male pilots, many of whom died as the nation scrambled to intercept and shoot down Nazi planes. According to the BBC, Ellis, then Mary Wilkins, joined the ATA after hearing an appeal for women pilots on the radio. She told the network that they were known as the "Glamour Girls," adding that "there were plenty of escorts around." Among the 70 models of planes she flew, according to Forces.net, a military-focused British website, was the famed Spitfire fighter, whose maneuverability was key in Britain’s victory. "I love it, it's everybody's favorite," she said at a surprise party in 2017 for her 100th birthday, held at an airport near her home in southern England. “To fly it is absolutely fantastic,” she told the website. “It’s so responsive to all the actions you might want.” Ellis, who passed away on Tuesday, recalled her first encounter with the plane. “When I went to collect my first Spitfire,” she told Forces.net, “the man helping me with my parachute asked, ‘How many of these have you flown before?’ And I said, ‘None, this is the first one,’ and he nearly … fell off the airplane." Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, the commander of the U.K.’s Royal Air Force, mourned Ellis on Twitter. "Another terrible loss... an inspiration to generations,” he wrote. Meanwhile, author and former RAF navigator John Nichol described Ellis as a "truly remarkable lady,” adding that "another giant leaves us to join her heroic friends in the Blue Skies." After the war, according to England’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, Ellis moved to the Isle of Wight, which lies off the southern coast, and managed a small airport from 1950 to 1970. She married fellow pilot Don Ellis in 1961, the paper reported, and the couple lived in a house next to the runway. Her husband died in 2009. Ellis was active until the end, attending a reception at Prime Minister Theresa May’s home at 10 Downing Street in May of this year that marked the 100th anniversary of the RAF. TV presenter and historian Dan Snow posted on Twitter that he took his children to meet her last week. “My boy clasped a model plane,” he wrote. “She asked what it was. 'Spitfire' he whispered. She leaned down and shared a few private thoughts about the aircraft.” Meanwhile, Mike Ling, a member of the RAF’s Red Arrows aerobatics team, posted that Ellis was a "legend of the Air Transport Auxiliary." "I hope you are enjoying a well-earned sherry up there with [fellow ATA pilot] Joy Lofthouse again," he added.<doc-sep>Mary Ellis, one of the last surviving British female pilots from the second world war, has died aged 101 at her home on the Isle of Wight. She delivered Spitfires and bombers to the frontline after responding to a radio appeal by the Air Transport Auxiliary for female pilots. Ellis, née Wilkins, joined the ATA in 1941 and flew about 1,000 planes over the next four years, including 400 Spitfires and 47 Wellington bombers. After the war, Ellis moved to the Isle of Wight and managed Sandown airport from 1950 to 1970. She married fellow pilot Don Ellis in 1961 and continued to live in their home beside the runway at Sandown after his death in 2009. Ellis was awarded the freedom of the Isle of Wight earlier this year, and was described by the council leader, Dave Stewart, as a “national, international and island heroine”. Other surviving female second world war pilots include Eleanor Wadsworth, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, Nancy Stratford, who lives in the US, Jaye Edwards, who lives in Canada, and Ethel Elizabeth Sharpe, who lives in Truro, Cornwall. Tributes have been paid to her on social media by fellow pilots including the Red Arrows flier Mike Ling. More awful news. RIP Mary Ellis. A legend of the Air Transport Auxiliary. Over 1000 aircraft; 76 different types and over 400 Spitfires alone. I hope you’re enjoying a well-earned sherry up there with Joy Lofthouse again. Blue skies Ma’am #LestWeForget pic.twitter.com/1v0yCbniJG — Mike Ling MBE (Red 3) (@MikeLingPilot) July 25, 2018 The TV presenter Dan Snow said he took his children to meet her last week, when Ellis shared her thoughts about the Spitfire. She described it as her favourite aircraft at her 100th birthday celebrations last year, saying: “I think it’s a symbol of freedom.” Mary Ellis, one of Britain's greatest aviators, died yesterday at age 101. Last week I took my kids to meet her. My boy clasped a model plane. She asked what it was. 'Spitfire' he whispered. She leaned down and shared a few private thoughts about the aircraft. pic.twitter.com/iMO1DxOhtl — Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) July 26, 2018 The author and former RAF navigator John Nichol described Ellis as a “truly remarkable lady”. Very sad to hear that WW2 ATA pilot Mary Ellis has died aged 101. A truly remarkable lady, she flew 400 Spitfires & 76 different types of aircraft during WW2. Another giant leaves us to john her heroic friends in Blue Skies. Rest in peace Mary; you truly deserve it. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/br00jZxGiu — John Nichol (@JohnNicholRAF) July 25, 2018 The author and historian James Holland said it was “traumatic” to see how fast Ellis’s “amazing generation” of pilots was slipping away. First Tom Neil, then Geoff Wellum and now the wonderful Mary Ellis. Three flying legends gone, just like that. It’s really quite traumatic how fast that amazing generation is slipping away. I feel more than wistful. pic.twitter.com/XEZZAh4kmQ — James Holland (@James1940) July 26, 2018 The youngest Spitfire pilot in the second world war, Geoffrey Wellum, who was 18 when he joined the Royal Air Force in 1939, died last week aged 96. The Battle of Britain pilot Tom Neil also died earlier this month, aged 97. Ellis was born in the village of Leafield, Oxfordshire, in 1917. The Royal Flying Corps had an active presence in the county, and Ellis enjoyed flying aircraft for pleasure up until the war began in 1939, and all civilian flying was banned in Britain. After coming to terms with the possibility of being unable to fly again for a long period, two years into the war, Ellis heard the ATA’s appeal for female pilots. Women were allowed to fly military trainer and communications aircraft from 1940. A total of 168 women served in the ATA during the war; 15 died in the line of duty.<doc-sep>"We'd say to each other, 'Oh look what I've got, look what I've got'. And that was terribly exciting. Sometimes frightening as well because the aeroplanes were all different. You'd get out of a Tiger Moth into a Wellington bomber and then into a Spitfire."<doc-sep>
One of the last surviving female pilots from World War II has died on the British Isle of Wight, aged 101. Mary Ellis served in the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during the war, delivering Spitfire and bomber aircraft to British military officers on the frontlines. The organization specialized in delivering supplies to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy but was staffed by pilots exempt from wartime service either because of poor health, advanced age or their gender. Born Mary Wilkins to a farming family in Oxfordshire in 1917, Ellis learned to fly for pleasure until war broke out in 1939 and all civilian flights were grounded. Ellis enlisted in 1941, after hearing a recruitment ad for the ATA on the radio. During the next four years of combat, Ellis flew around 1,000 planes, including 400 Spitfires and 47 Wellington bombers, The Guardian reported. The news of Ellis's death prompted an outpouring of tributes from the aviation community, historians and locals on the Isle of Wight. ATA secretary John Webster described the late pilot as an "amazing" person, BBC reported, while historical documentarian Dan Snow hailed her as "one of Britain's greatest aviators," in a Twitter post. Ex-RAF navigator John Nichol paid tribute to Ellis on Twitter labeling her a "truly remarkable lady." "Another giant leaves us to join her heroic friends in the blue skies," Nichol wrote. "RIP Mary Ellis. A legend of the Air Transport Auxiliary," Red Arrows flier Mike Ling tweeted. "I hope you're enjoying a well-earned sherry up there with Joy Lofthouse again. Blue skies Ma'am." After the war Ellis settled on the Isle of Wight, where she took charge of the Sandown airport between 1950 to 1970. She married fellow pilot Don Ellis in 1961, and the two lived by the Sandown runway, where Mary Ellis passed away this week. Her husband, Don, died in 2009. The Sandown airport threw a surprise 100th birthday party for its retired chief last year, where Ellis opened up about her favorite aircraft—the Spitfire. "I love it, it's everybody's favourite," she said at the time. "I think it's a symbol of freedom." As part of the celebration, she took to the sky in one of the machines, controlling the Spitfire for 15 minutes of its brief flight before handing back to her co-pilot. Ellis was one of four surviving female pilots from the war, according to Webster. Over the course of the war a total of 168 women joined the ATA, 15 of whom died in battle. She came close to death several times, including being shot at over Bournemouth and nearly colliding with another Spitfire in the fog. The pilot, known as one of the "Spitfire Girls," faced incredulity during her first deliveries of aircraft from factories to the armed forces, as she recalled one instance when staff watched her leave the plane she had landed and refused to believe she did it. "We can't go, we're waiting for the pilot," she was told at the time. "And I said, 'I am the pilot.' They wouldn't believe me. They sent two men in to search the airplane, to make sure," she told the BBC in an interview earlier this year. "Everybody was flabbergasted that a little girl like me could fly these big aeroplanes all by oneself." Ellis lived to see the RAF, whose squadrons she helped supply in wartime, win its most famous triumph and then go on to mark its own 100th anniversary earlier this month. "I'll always remember her proudly reminding us at RAF100 events that she was older than the RAF itself! RIP Mary," Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, head of the RAF, tweeted. The ATA secretary told the BBC that the unit's survivors now comprise Eleanor Wadsworth, who lives in Bury St. Edmunds, Nancy Stratford, who lives in the United States and Jaye Edwards, who has moved to Canada.