Jean Batten

Her later years saw her leading a life of a recluse. She stayed at different places with her mother, who died on the island of Tenerife, Spain in 1965.

Though Batten had a number of romantic relationships but she never got married.

In 1982, while Batten was living in Majorca, Spain, she got wounded of a dog bite. As she refused to get proper treatment, the infection soon spread leading to complications and ultimately to her death on November 22, 1982.

She was born on September 15, 1909 in Rotorua, New Zealand, to Frederick Batten and Ellen Batten as the only daughter among three children.

Her family moved to Auckland in 1913 and at five Batten started attending ‘Melmerley Ladies School’ in Parnell.

Her father, a dental surgeon, volunteered to join the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1917 during the ‘First World War’ and was subsequently posted in the Western Front.

Absence of her father’s earnings disrupted financial condition of the family causing several hardships. They were forced to dwell in several cheap and shabby accommodations and she was also later shifted to a state school.

Though her father came back to Auckland in 1919, her parents' relationship strained and they parted ways in around 1920.

Her career objective however changed dramatically in the late 1920s when she developed a passion for flying. It was the beginning of an era that was marked with highly publicized record-setting and record-breaking flights made by many aviators. She was inspired by the non-stop solo-flight of Charles Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Her mother, who supported her, took her to Sydney on a holiday in 1929 and made arrangements for her to fly with Charles Kingsford Smith, an Australian pilot, in his tri-motor ‘Southern Cross’.

In 1930 she moved to England with her mother and joined the ‘London Aeroplane Club’.

She required funds to obtain her private and commercial licences and borrowed £500 from a young pilot Fred Truman from New Zealand, who was serving the ‘Royal Air Force’ and who wanted to marry her. She gained both her licences by 1932 but thereafter never looked back at Truman. She also took up courses in aircraft maintenance and mechanics.

She became close to Victor Dorée and the association saw Dorée borrowing £400 from his mother so that Batten would have a Gipsy Moth biplane originally owned by the Prince of Wales that changed hands many times thereafter. NZ History Online mentioned, "Raising money by taking advantage of her relationships with men was a theme that continued throughout her flying career.”