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Alys Laird "Penny" Mamedoff (née Craven) was a member of the Craven family, which owned English cigarette company. In August 1941, she married American RAF pilot Andrew Mamedoff, becoming the first "war bride" of World War II. Mamedoff was killed in October 1941, as a result of a flying accident.
Aside from these details, little information about Penny Mamedoff's life is readily available to North American sources. Her dates of birth and death or unknown.
Penny Mamedoff in Or Even Eagle Flew[]
Penny Craven met Andy Mamedoff in late 1940 while he was with 71 Squadron. They fell in love, and in August, 1941, they married in Epping. During the ceremony, Penny met Mamedoff's fellow pilot, Amelia Earhart, whom Penny had admired as a little girl. During the ceremony, two other flyers with 71 Squadron did a low flyover of the town; since Andrew Mamedoff was the first flyer from 71 Squadron to get married, Earhart couldn't tell Penny whether this was a tradition.[1]
The marriage proved short-lived: in early October, Mamedoff was killed when he flew into the side of a hill on a foggy night.[2]
Penny never knew that Mamedoff and Earhart had engaged in a one-night stand in February 1941 when they were mourning their mutual friend, Vernon "Shorty" Keough.[3]
References[]
- ↑ Or Even Eagle Flew, pgs. 113-114, loc. 1234-1250.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 124-30 loc. 1362-1409.
- ↑ Ibid. pgs. 99-102, loc. 1084-1118.
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