R.I.P. Diana Barnato Walker

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  05.21.08 | 3:57 PM ET

Diana Barnato Walker, the first British woman to break the sound barrier, died last week at age 90. Walker got her start as a civilian pilot in Britain’s Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War, ferrying more than 240 Spitfires around the country. On August 26, 1963, she took her first flight at supersonic speeds, reaching a mind-boggling 2,030 kilometers per hour.

Tags: R.I.P., News and Briefs

Eva Holland is the senior editor of World Hum. Her writing has also appeared in the National Post, the Montreal Gazette, the Ottawa Citizen and WestJet's Up! Magazine, among other publications. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


1 Comment for R.I.P. Diana Barnato Walker

John M. Edwards 05.22.08 | 12:16 AM ET

Hi Eva:

Mrs. Walker didn’t come home. . . .

Her heroism shall be rewarded in the afterlife.

I would risk flying at 2,030 kph. If you looked out the windowmaybe you’d see dinosaurs and cro-Magnon men and stuff.

Oh, sorry, that’s the TIME BARRIER.

John M. Edwards

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