A PILOT from RAF Odiham has told of her pride at leading the first ever all-woman flypast over Whitehall just as the Queen unveiled a memorial commemorating the role of women during World War II. Flying a RAF Chinook, Flight Lieutenant Hannah Brown was followed by a Merlin HC3 flown by Flt Lt Penny Grayson, a Sea King HC4 piloted by Lt Cdr Victoria Arden, a Lynx AH7 piloted by Captain Anna Cliff and an Apache AH1 piloted by Captain Emma Parsons. As the formation leader it was the 25-year- old's responsibility to co-ordinate the landmark event, ensuring that the flypast was over Whitehall in time for the unveiling at 3 pm on Saturday. But Flt Lt Brown was unfazed by the challenge. "I'm obviously very proud to be leading the flypast. It is great to be involved in such an event," she said. "I'm very proud to be commemorating the occasion in this way." Liz, a young woman crewman who did not want to give her surname, flew with Flt Lt Brown. She said: "It is lovely to be part of something like this, remembering what has gone on in the past." The £1m monument was unveiled by the Queen to commemorate the contribution made by seven million women in the war. The 22 ft-high bronze sculpture depicts the uniforms and working clothes worn by women during the war. Former Speaker of the House of Commons Baroness Betty Boothroyd paid tribute to the women at the unveiling. She said: "This monument is dedicated to all the women who served our country and the cause of freedom in uniform and on the home front. "It is not by its nature purely a military memorial. It depicts the uniforms of women in the forces alongside the working clothes of those who worked in the factories, the hospitals, the emergency services and the farms. "I hope that future generations who pass this way down Whitehall will ask themselves what sort of women were they and look at history for the answer." A number of women who had been awarded the George Medal, the second highest bravery award that a civilian can be awarded, attended the ceremony. Baroness Boothroyd had raised £800,000 towards the cost of the monument - designed by sculptor John Mills in Braintree, Essex - by appearing on ITV's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? quiz show in 2002. Other funds were raised by the Memorial to the Women of World War II Fund, a charitable trust run by volunteers in York.
