A HERO who died after a failed attempt to rescue Britain's most famous airwoman Amy Johnson has stirred the imagination of freelance journalist Midge Gillies as she embarks on a biography of the famous pilot.

Ms Gillies, of Ely, Cambridgeshire, is fascinated to find out more about the brave sailor, Lieutenant Commander Walter Edmund Fletcher, formerly of Monks Risborough, who died trying to save Amy after she parachuted into the Thames Estuary in 1941.

Surprising coincidences unearthed during her research has prompted her to ask Free Press readers if they can tell her more about the hero.

"Amy, who lived in Princes Risborough between 1937 and 1938, was working with the Air Transport Auxiliary at the time and was flying from Prestwick in Scotland to an RAF base in Oxford," said Ms Gillies. "The weather was appalling and she came down over the Thames Estuary after stopping over in Blackpool. Commander Walter Fletcher who was on a convoy at the time dived in to save her but her body was never found. He later died of hypothermia."

Amy Johnson, a typist from Hull, who once lived in Princes Risborough, made history when she became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia in 1930 and was later part of famous flying duo 'The Flying Sweethearts' with her Scottish husband Jim Mollison.

So far Ms Gillies has learned that Lieut Commander Fletcher was born into a farming household and spent his entire career in the navy.

Anyone who thinks they can help Ms Gillies with her book can contact her on 01353 666345 or email her at MidgeGillies@compuserve.com

February 14, 2002 14:00