Home | Veterans | Joy Lofthouse
JoyLofthouse

A veteran interview with

Joy Lofthouse

Joy Lofthouse flew Spitfires with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during WWII. This short film [edited from her whole interview] is thanks to the support of  the Royal British Legion. Without them we would not see such wonderful B-roll footage from AP and British Pathe. Five minutes viewing,  well spent on VE Day.

Play video
Watch the interview

About Joy Lofthouse

In this interview, listen to Joy talk about her rare and exciting opportunity to fly with ATA in the famous spitfire plane. Born in Cirencester, Joy was raised in the countryside where she learned to be strong and independent, always striving to be the best she could possibly be. When her sister joined the ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary), it was only a matter of time before Joy’s fierce competitive edge would cause her to follow in her sister’s footsteps and join up as well. Although Joy found her training quite difficult due to the tough weather conditions which made her experience more challenging; she soon found her rhythm and was accepted to fly possibly the most iconic plane from the WWII era: the spitfire. However, as the war progressed, there became less and less of a need for women pilots in the eyes of the military, so Joy’s original pool was disbanded. In the interview, Joy speaks on her experience of moving pools not once but twice! She also explains how the different ranks in the ATA work, as well as talk about an intense emergency landing that forced her to hitchhike back home, in additional to what made the American bases so much more exciting.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Charlie Akhlaq

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

Copyright:
All video content, web site design, graphics, images (including submitted content), text, the selection and arrangement thereof, underlying source code, software and all other material on this Web site are the copyright of Legasee Educational Trust, and its affiliates, or their content and technology providers. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Any use of materials on this Web site – including reproduction for purposes other than those noted above, modification, distribution, or republication – without the prior written permission of Legasee Educational Trust is strictly prohibited.

Home | Veterans | Joy Lofthouse

A veteran interview with

Joy Lofthouse

JoyLofthouse

Joy Lofthouse flew Spitfires with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during WWII. This short film [edited from her whole interview] is thanks to the support of  the Royal British Legion. Without them we would not see such wonderful B-roll footage from AP and British Pathe. Five minutes viewing,  well spent on VE Day.

Related topics & talking points

Veteran gallery

Photos & memories

Keep on watching

More veteran stories...

Share this interview on:

https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/joy-lofthouse/

Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Lofthouse, Joy. A Veteran Interview with Joy Lofthouse. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/joy-lofthouse/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
APA Style:
Lofthouse, J. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Joy Lofthouse [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved February 14, 2026, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/joy-lofthouse/
Chicago Style:
Lofthouse, Joy. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Joy Lofthouse. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee. Accessed February 14, 2026. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/joy-lofthouse/
Harvard Style:
Lofthouse, J. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Joy Lofthouse. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/joy-lofthouse/ (Accessed: 14 February 2026)
Vancouver Style:
Lofthouse, J. A Veteran Interview with Joy Lofthouse [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2026 Feb 14]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/joy-lofthouse/
An interview with

Martyn Coombes

From purser to medical volunteer, Martyn shares his experiences of his time with the SS Uganda during the Falklands War.

In his youth, Martyn was an army cadet and in the territorials but didn’t land a commission. Instead he went into hotel work which then led to cruise ships. He started out as assistant purser and in the 1980s was onboard the SS Uganda which Martyn calls the “naughty boys ship” because it was full of rogues! They were being used by schools as an educational ship and were at Egypt when they were requisitioned for the Falklands. It was a nerve wracking journey to Naples at night and avoiding the wrecks from the Six Day War. There the children and passengers disembarked, military personnel boarded and the ship was kitted out as a floating hospital. Martyn recalls in detail the total transformation the ship underwent. To start with, the journey south felt like an adventure and morale was high, they had the Royal Marine Band onboard who helped meld together the Merchant and Royal Navy, but reality hit home when they heard about the sinking of HMS Sheffield and the General Belgrano. One of the biggest challenges they faced was ensuring water supply and their priority upon arrival became engineering this. Meanwhile, Martyn became a stretcher bearer on top of his other responsibilities as well as volunteering to help in the hospital wards. He recalls some of the casualties who came his way, including three men he knew from his days in the TA. Of all the casualties who came on board, only three died. Martyn also vividly recalls coming incredibly close to two Phantom jets and their ship unwittingly sailing through a minefield, thankfully without damage. Upon return, it was Martyn’s responsibility to look after the supply of souvenirs. He was based on his own in the Matron’s office which meant he couldn’t see the welcome home fanfare. Eventually, sure he was missing out, he abandoned the souvenirs to find his family! Martyn says he wouldn’t wear his medal for a long time because he didn’t directly experience the war but a captain told him to wear it with pride, if it hadn’t been for the support of vessels like the Uganda they would not have succeeded.
Photo Gallery icon 1 Photo
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Mildred Schutz

Mildred recalls her training as a FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) and the work she did for the resistance in Italy near the front line

Mildred Schultz recalls how she grew up on a farm and went to school in Walton-on-Thames. She attended a business college in Kingston and from there worked at a shipping company in Cobham. Even though her job was protected, she volunteered and joined the Inter-Services Research Bureau. She explains how she went to work at S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive) headquarters in Baker Street London, realising she was working for the resistance movement, reading and destroying reports. Asked if she would travel abroad, Mildred said ‘yes’ and undertook FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) training at Chicheley Hall in Bedfordshire. From here she was sent to Italy for further training on a boat and describes how they were pursued by U-boats, bombed and machine gunned. In Italy she became the PA to the man in charge of maps and equipment, and then worked as an assistant to the Admin Captain Amos. She recalls spending a snowy Christmas in Monopoli and then onto Siena to the Headquarters of Number 1 Special Force, taking a perilous jeep journey up a mountain road with boulders near the front-line with guns aimed at them. On a lighter note, Mildred remembers a makeshift Christmas service under a derelict chapel with many nationalities, some of whom had escaped from Prisoner of War camps, and also Germans who had escaped and given up, all singing carols together.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martyn Cox