the United States. She declined, opting instead to return to England. According to Peggy Kelman, an Australian aviator of the 1930s interviewed by Mackersey, Batten had written to her mother for permission to take the tour but this was not forthcoming and she was ordered to go back to England. She arrived at Southampton on 23 December aboard the RMS Asturias, the Gull in its hold. In her autobiography, Batten makes no mention of Lindberg's offer, noting that she wanted to be in London for Christmas. Interlude After spending Christmas Day with her mother in Hatfield, Batten went to Southampton to fly her Gull back to Hatfield aerodrome. During the flight, she crashed her aeroplane. In an interview given to a reporter of the Daily Express, she blamed an engine failure that forced her to glide to a crash landing on South Downs, in West Sussex. She suffered a cut to her head and a concussion, while the Gull's wings were twisted and its undercarriage was torn away. The Gull was taken to Gravesend to be repaired. During this time, and claiming her aeroplane was "being overhauled", she went to Paris to receive a gold medal presented by the French Academy of Sports and met Louis Blériot. The French Government shortly announced its intention to award her the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. She received further honours: these included the Britannia Trophy, awarded by the Royal Aero Club for the most meritorious flight of 1935 to be made by a British subject, the Challenge Trophy, which she was awarded for the second time by the Women's International Association of Aeronautics, and the Harmon Trophy, jointly awarded to Batten and Amelia Earhart. The Daily Express also named her as one of its five "Women of 1935". Once her Gull was repaired, Batten took her mother on a flying holiday to Spain and Morocco. When back in England, she often attended public engagements and functions but otherwise was largely reclusive. In June, Batten was created Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the King's Birthday Honours, for "general services to aviation". The New Zealand Government had agitated for Batten to be made a Dame but this was not entertained by officials in London, who were reluctant to reward risky record flight attempts. She was invested with the CBE by King Edward VIII in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on