Harold Balfour, the Under-Secretary of State for Air, offering her services as a pilot, and her Percival Gull, for communication work. He indicated that her name would be added to a pool of civilian pilots to be called upon by the RAF. She also had Sir Francis Shelmerdine, who was the head of the National Air Communications, an agency concerned with the coordination of civil aviation for the war effort, advocating on her behalf. She hoped to join the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), formed at the start of the war to provide experienced pilots for ferrying aircraft. Initially, there was no place for women, but in early 1940 a female section was formed at Hatfield with Amy Johnson being an early member. According to Batten's unpublished memoirs, she failed the required medical, blaming shortsightedness caused by the strain of inspecting maps in poor light during her record flight attempts. However, several of the other female pilots had imperfect vision and one flew with glasses. Mackersey speculates that Batten desired a role with the ATA that would only require her to fly her Gull. When this was not forthcoming, her enthusiasm to fly with the ATA was dimmed and later in the year, the Gull was requisitioned for war service. Batten instead became a driver for the Anglo-French Ambulance Corps. This only lasted a few months and she mainly fundraised for vehicles. The Germans conquered France before she was dispatched there and the unit was subsequently disbanded. She then began working at a munitions factory in Poole, Dorset, renting an apartment nearby. Her mother moved to Dorchester and on her days off, Batten would visit her. In 1943 she moved to London, taking up a residence in Baker Street with her mother, and began working for the National Savings Committee. She solicited donations from the public in aid of the war effort, and visited factories, industrial facilities and town halls throughout the country. According to her unpublished memoirs, during this time she met and fell in love with an RAF bomber pilot whom she identified only as Richard. She claimed to have made plans with him for the future but he was reported missing on a bombing raid later in the war. Later life In the postwar period, Batten and her mother moved to Jamaica. Ellen Batten had struggled with her health for most of the winter months of the war