realised that she wanted to prioritise her aviation career for a few years and saw marriage as compromising her ambitions. Return to England By April 1935, Batten was preparing to fly her Gipsy Moth back to England. Although it was not publicly declared, she hoped to set a new record for flying time between Australia and England. In her autobiography, she stated that the purpose of her return was to be in London for the Silver Jubilee of George V. Shepherd accompanied her in his own de Havilland Puss Moth part of the way to Darwin, from where she was to leave Australia. She commenced the first leg on 12 April, heading for Kupang in Timor. About halfway through the flight across the Timor Sea, her engine stopped; she had to glide for some time, nearly ditching in the sea, before successfully restarting it. The engine continued to play up for the remainder of the trip. On arriving at Kupang, she cleaned some of the components of the fuel system as she and a Dutch mechanic suspected dust was to blame for the problem. Despite this, she continued to experience similar intermittent engine problems for the remainder of her journey to England. Batten largely followed the reverse of the route flown on her outward trip to Australia. She avoided the worst of the Intertropical Convergence Zone but was slowed by headwinds flying west across West Asia. She had further engine trouble over Italy and by the time she reached Marseilles, there was only a slim chance of beating her record, and even then it would only be by a few minutes. However, she suffered a puncture and more engine problems. She arrived at Croydon, in England, having taken 17 days, 16 hours, to make the journey from Australia to England. She was still the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia and back again. Although only a few people were at Croydon for her arrival, her return to England was widely reported. When interviewed, she claimed that she had no help or financial backing, and credited her persistence for the successful endeavour. This disregarded the support provided by Castrol. In recognition of her record flight, the Women's International Association of Aeronautics, in the United States, awarded her its Challenge Trophy for 1934. England to Brazil Batten had turned her mind to a record flight from England to South