Jackie Moggridge, also known as Jackie Sorour earlier in her career, was a pioneering pilot and the first woman airline captain of scheduled passenger services.
Early life
Born Dolores Theresa Sorour in Pretoria, South Africa, she decided to call herself Jackie after her sports heroine Jackie Rissik. She learned to fly and got her ‘A’ flying licence, starting to fly aged just 15. By 17 she had become the first woman to do a parachute jump in South Africa. She moved to the United Kingdom in 1938 with the intention of getting her ‘B’ flying licence with the Aeronautical College, Witney, Oxford.
As for all the women she left flying when the ATA closed down. Moggridge then married an army Lieut. Colonel and engineer, Reginald Moggridge, in Taunton, Somerset in 1945 with whom she had two daughters. She was involved with the local amateur dramatics societies but still wanted to fly. In 1949 she was commissioned into the Women's RAF Volunteer Reserve, as a Pilot Officer. She qualified for her RAF wings in 1953. A result of her involvement in both dramatics and the reserve Moggridge was interviewed in 1950 by Richard Dimbleby for his radio showDown Your Way. Moggridge went on to gain her commercial pilot's licence in the 1950s as well. She worked ferrying Spitfires from Cypress to Rangoon, to the Indian Air Force and to Burma. After these jobs ended Moggridge looked for more flying opportunities. In 1957 LEC Refrigeration would fly demonstration versions of their fridges overseas for potential customers to view. Moggridge got the job of co-pilot and undertook the trip of 15,000 miles flying the fridges to South Africa. Next, Channel Airways was looking for a pilot for their operation based at Southend Airport. Moggridge applied but neglected to mention she was a woman. She got the interview and managed, using her impressive flying record, to get the job. Over time, she worked the Isle of Wight, Jersey and Guernsey routes.
Awards and legacy
For her war-service, the recently married First Officer Moggridge was awarded the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, as well as the standard medals. In addition, she was later awarded the Coronation medal: at the time, these medals were not a universal issue, so to have been selected for one of the limited allocation was itself a further recognition of merit. She was awarded the Jean Lennox Bird Trophy by the British Women Pilots’ Association in 1959. She created the Jackie Moggridge Cup, which is awarded to a British woman pilot for achieving excellent qualifications. Moggridge wrote a book about her experiences, originally published in 1957 as Now republished as ‘Spitfire Girl – My Life in the Sky’.
