Enid Gordon-Gallien

Enid Gordon-Gallien
Born	Enid Myra Merlyn Atkyns 9 Nov 1885 Melbourne, Australia
Died	June 18, 1931(1931-06-18) (aged 45) Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Nationality	British

Enid Gordon-Gallien (9 November 1885^[1] – 18 June 1931), was a British adventurer and pilot who was awarded the Back Award in 1930 for her expedition in Tanganyika.

Life

Enid Gordon-Gallien was the wife of Captain Gordon Gallien, an engineer of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. With him she had travelled extensively. She had been involved in the First World War in both France and Egypt. Gordon-Gallien was a member of the Royal Geographical Society. She studied with Mr Reeves of the Royal Geographical Society in 1925 and in 1928 and she studied field astronomy and surveying. At that point she began investigating what expeditions she could run. The president of the society, Colonel Sir Charles Close, proposed the as then unmapped Kalambo Falls. Prior to this, Gordon-Gallien had driven her car across the desert to Baghdad as well as becoming shipwrecked on the Barrier Reef while journeying to join her husband in Borneo.^[2][3]

Gordon-Gallien began at Dar-es-Salaam on 15 June 1928. Other members of the party were J. W. Cornwall, a surveyor, and Colin Rose, a geologist. The expedition was written up and presented to the society in 1929. As a result of her work on the expedition, Gordon-Gallien was awarded the Back Award in 1930.^[3][4]

Gordon-Gallien gained her aviators certificate in August 1930 through National Flying Services at Hanworth Aerodrome. However, she was killed in a plane crash, as a passenger, when flying with her friend and co-owner of the plane, the noted pilot Sicele O'Brien on 18 June 1931.^[5]

References and sources

1. "The Argus, 16 Nov 1885 Birth Notices". trove.nla.gov.au.
2. "AN IDLE WOMAN'S DIARY". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 20 December 1918. p. 7.
   - Pierre Bertaux (2001). Un normalien à Berlin. Presses Sorbonne Nouvelle. ISBN 978-2-910212-16-2.
   - "MEETINGS : ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY : SESSION 1922-1923". The Geographical Journal. LXI-January to June 1923. 1923.
3. Close, Charles; Melland, F. H. (1929). "The Kalambo River and Falls: Discussion". The Geographical Journal. 74 (1): 44. doi:10.2307/1784943. ISSN 0016-7398. JSTOR 1784943.
4. "Kalambo Falls". The Guardian. 24 June 1930.
   - Green, Lawrence G. (1961). Great Road North. Howard Timmins. Retrieved 6 November 2018 – via Internet Archive.
   - John Desmond Clark (1969). Kalambo Falls Prehistoric Site. Cambridge University Press. pp. 19–. GGKEY:H4E29783T4E.
   - Gordon-Gallien, Enid (1929). "The Kalambo River and Falls". The Geographical Journal. 74 (1): 28–32. doi:10.2307/1784940. ISSN 0016-7398. JSTOR 1784940.
   - "LIVINGSTONE TREE". The Straits Times. 2 April 1929. p. 3. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
   - Enid Gordon-Gallien (1929). The Kalambo River and Falls. London: Royal Geographical Society.
5. Report of Meeting of the Committee of the Royal Aero Club. 22 August 1930. Retrieved 6 November 2018. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
   - "Inquest on Two Airwomen". unknown. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
   - "Bluebird crashes at Hatfield Airport, Herefordshire, UK 1931". PPRuNe Forums. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
   - Ranter, Harro (23 January 2010). "Accident Blackburn L.1B Bluebird III G-AABF, 18 Jun 1931". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
   - "Sicele O'Brien". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
   - "A list of fatal air accidents in Britain and Ireland 1930 - 1934". rcawsey.co.uk. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
   - "The Age, 22 June 1931 Death Notices". trove.nla.gov.au.