Women Pilots at King's Cup 1927

                                           Mrs Sophie Eliott-Lynn, Lady Mary Bailey and ?? 

Organised by the local aviation club in collaboration with the Royal Aero Club, in Hucknall, Nottingham on 31 July 1927, this was the first King's Cup  to include women, with both Mrs Eliott-Lynn and Lady Bailey entered.
A new handicap system caused consternation and Mrs Eliott-Lynn  was one of 11 to withdraw before the start in protest.  Under new rules, the scratch man would start five hours after the first starter.
The dreadful conditions and poor visibility meant that of the 16 who did set off on the 540 race, just six finished. Lady Bailey was one of the drop outs.

A day later, most of the pilots who had assembled took part in a  Royal Aero Club meeting  where Sophie won the chief race of the day, the Grosvenor Cup (15-mile course; 3 heats and a final) and £100 in a DH Moth prototype (60hp Cirrus 1 engine) beating the Master of Sempill by a considerable margin; she became the first woman aviator to win an open race.
* More pics at http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/437611-kings-cup-air-race-1927-a.html