Eyre, Elizabeth

Description

Elizabeth Hazen Eyre

Elizabeth Hazen Eyre was born on May 8, 1923, in New York City, New York, to Therese Quanz, age 28, and Henry Norman Eyre, age 29. She attended Rye Country Day School in Rye, N.Y. and graduated from Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Conn., class of 1941. In Rye her family lived at 5 Ridgewood Drive.

Elizabeth served as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. She was a Woman’s Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) graduating in the class of 1944-W-5 at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas

She was one of the first women in history to fly American military aircraft. By graduation, WASP recruits had 560 hours of ground school and 210 hours of flight training. They knew Morse code, meteorology, military law, physics, aircraft mechanics, navigation and other subjects.

After their training, the WASP were stationed at 122 air bases across the U.S., where they assumed numerous flight-related missions. They were organized specifically to ferry airplanes and free male pilots, for combat roles. A WASP would go to the factory, test fly the airplane and then deliver it.

During World War II, women pilots flew 80 percent of all ferrying missions. Between September 1942 and December 1944, the WASP delivered 12,652 aircraft of 78 different types. Thirty-eight members lost their lives in accidents: eleven during training, and twenty-seven on missions.

After the war, In the 1940’s she established The Elizabeth Eyre Taylor Real Estate Organization in Southfield, Mass., covering properties in the Berkshires, Connecticut, New York, Florida and the Bahamas.

Elizabeth married Peter Burr Taylor on September 13, 1955, in King, Washington. For many years, she worked with Albert Schweitzer at his foundation in Africa helping him care for people and animals in need of medical and social services.

For her WWII service as a WASP, Elizabeth received the highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal.

The WASP were the first female military pilots received the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in the Capitol March 10, 2010. One of the highest honors given to civilians, this Congressional Gold Medal presented to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) represents the contributions of female pilots during World War II. Seventy-five years ago, on August 5, 1943, a remarkable group of women stepped into roles that would earn them the Congressional Gold Medal.

Elizabeth was an avid animal lover who rescued and took care of many animals and birds at her farm in Southfield, Mass.

Elizabeth Eyre Taylor, a longtime resident of Southfield, and Eleuthera, Bahamas died Sunday, January 27, 2013 at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington, at the age of 89.

At the time of her death, she was survived by her sister Jane Eyre Repp, many nieces and nephews and her precious animals. She was predeceased by her sister Shirley Knapp and her brother Henry Norman (Jim) Eyre.