Sheila Scott

Who was Sheila Scott?

Sheila Scott OBE, was an English aviator.

Born Sheila Christine Hopkins in Worcester, Worcestershire, England in 1922, educated at the Alice Ottley School, she broke over 100 aviation records through her long distance flight endeavours, which included a 34,000-mile "world and a half" flight in 1971. On this flight, she became the first person to fly over the North Pole in a small aircraft. She also served as governor of the British section of the Ninety-Nines, an international association of licensed women pilots. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1968. One of the teaching buildings at the University of Worcester is named after her.

In 1943 she started a career as an actress with the stage name Sheila Scott a name she used for the rest of her life. Scott had a short marriage from 1945 to 1950 to Rupert Bellamy. In 1958 she learned to fly going solo at Thruxton aerodome after nine-months training.