Molly White

Mrs White was a late starter in journalism, but came to it with the same wholehearted enthusiasm that she earlier brought to horses and riding and, later on, to flying aircraft.

She was an ardent member of the 300-strong British Women Pilots' Association, editing its magazine, and wrote two books on RAF transport aircraft.

Born Mary O'Loughlin, she was the daughter of a doctor, and brought up in Essex, where she gained an early enthusiasm for anything to do with horses.

She went on to own horses, break them in, sell them and later started her own stables at Chelmsford after serving in the Land Army in the Second World War.

As a child, however, she was also keen on writing and her early published efforts were, naturally, about horses, including stories for children's annuals and magazines.

She eventually came into newspaper journalism in 1965 when she started to write for the Witney Gazette - then a privately owned newspaper - after her husband Bill was posted to RAF Brize Norton.

The Gazette was taken over by the Westminster Press Group, and she became part of the staff of the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times.

Mrs White learned to fly in her 50s and part-owned a light aircraft flying out of Oxford airport.

She recalled: "In this area, with Brize Norton on your doorstep, you can't avoid aircraft."

She and her husband, who had no children, settled into retirement at Minster Lovell. Bill, who developed Parkinson Disease, died several years ago and she went to live at the Cotswold Home near Burford.

She died on April 22 and her funeral is at 12.30pm on May 1, at Kingsdown crematorium, near Swindon.

She requested no flowers at her funeral but, donations for the Parkinson Disease Society, c/o E Taylor and Son, 21 Corbett Road, Carterton, Oxon OX18 3LG.