This year is the 75th anniversary of the Battle of
Britain and a hero who helped us to win it was engineer Beatrice 'Tilly'
Shilling. Tilly Shilling always wanted to be an engineer. She bought a
motorcycle at the age of 14, completely rebuilding it, later racing them in
competition. In 1929, with encouragement from her employer, she became the one
of only two women to study for an electrical engineering degree at the
University of Manchester. Following this she obtained an MSc in mechanical
engineering and in 1936 secured a Scientific Officer position at the Royal
Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough.
On the outbreak of the second world war the Luftwaffe
discovered that Spitfire and Hurricane fighters had an engine vulnerability.
Designed to use carburettors, on diving, the fighter's Rolls Royce Merlin
engine would starve of fuel triggering a cut-out. A catastrophic and
potentially fatal problem during a dog fight. The enemy with their less
powerful but fuel injected engines had a big advantage. An urgent solution was
needed and it was Tilly's simple modification that saved the day. Installing
her specially designed disc, into the engine's carburettor fuel inlet, the
cut-outs could be overcome. Leading a
team of technicians out to frontline RAF airfields she rapidly modified every
Spitfire and Hurricane engine. RAF fighter pilots could be now confident with
engine power in battle and by March 1941 she completed the work.
After the war Tilly moved on to motor racing and work on
Britain's Blue Streak rocket. She was awarded an OBE and a Phd in engineering
from the University of Surrey. If you visit Farnborough you may see a pub named
the Tilly Shilling in fond memory of her work. Some of her racing memorabilia,
acquired in 2015, is at Brooklands Museum. On the track at Brooklands in the
1930's she won a famous Gold Star for lapping at an average of over 100 mph by
motorcycle, being the first woman to achieve the challenge.
- John Faulkner, SATRO Volunteer
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