Transatlantic flight and disappearance

In 1927, Anne financed Captain Leslie Hamilton's attempt to set an aviation record by being the first aviator to fly over the Atlantic Ocean from east to west from England to Canada.^[1][21] Against her relatives' protests, including those of her brother John Horace Savile, 5th Earl of Mexborough, she decided to join Hamilton's expedition as a passenger^[1][19][20] because she had dreamed of becoming the first woman to "fly the sea".^[3] Anne, Captain Hamilton, and Colonel Frederick F. Minchin took off from the aerodrome at Upavon, Wiltshire at 7:32 a.m. on 31 August 1927 in a large Fokker F.VII monoplane powered by a 450 hp Bristol Jupiter engine known as the Saint Raphael bound for Ottawa.^[1][4][21] For the historic flight, Anne was dressed in royal purple to demonstrate what style of clothing she felt women should wear during a transatlantic flight.^[1] Her wardrobe consisted of purple leather knee-breeches, a matching jacket, a black crush hat, black silk stockings, and high-heeled fur-lined boots.^[1] Anne's flying suit was similar to those she had worn in previous cup races.^[20] The Archbishop of Cardiff blessed the aircraft and its occupants, and following the blessing, Anne discarded her coat and boarded the aircraft.^[1]

The Saint Raphael headed west from the coast of Ireland and was last seen by the crew of the SS Josiah Macy.^[22] Around 6 a.m. the next morning the Dutch steamer SS Blijdendijik reported seeing a white light travelling eastward in the sky when about 420 miles east-south-east of New York, which, if it were St. Raphael, was far to the south of its intended route, suggesting that they were lost. The aircraft was never seen again.^[23] Wireless communications with all points along the coast of Labrador failed to find any trace of the Saint Raphael following its disappearance in flight.^[24] Further searches failed to yield signs of the aircraft and its crew, and by 5 September, the remaining hope was that fish-carrying steamers or whalers had rescued Anne, Hamilton, and Minchin after the Saint Raphael plunged into the ocean, as it was supposed.^[24] On 5 September, Anne's brothers, the Earl of Mexborough and the Honourable George Savile, announced that they believed their sister had died at sea along with Captain Hamilton and Colonel Minchin.^[25] Despite no signs of the Saint Raphael or its crew, it is presumed that Anne, Hamilton, and Minchin perished on 31 August 1927 in the North Atlantic Ocean near Labrador and Newfoundland.^{[2][24][26][27]} Savile family friend Princess Blücher von Wahlstatt told the United Press that "[Anne's] brothers did their best to dissuade her from the unnecessary adventure, but she was bent on going and refused to be dissuaded."^[25]

At the time of her death, Anne was the second woman to disappear in an attempted transoceanic flight in nearly two weeks; the first was Mildred Doran, who had been participating in the Dole Air Race from Oakland, California, to Hawaii.^[1][26]

In 1928, the Ontario Surveyor General named a number of lakes in the northwest of the province to honour aviators who had perished during 1927, mainly in attempting oceanic flights.^[28][29] The main lake so named is St Raphael Lake (50.64°N 91.08°W / 50.64; -91.08) named for the Saint Raphael; similarly-named lakes in the same general vicinity include Hamilton Lake (50.89°N 90.38°W / 50.89; -90.38), Minchin Lake (50.78°N 90.53°W / 50.78; -90.53) and Wertheim Lake (50.66°N 90.62°W / 50.66; -90.62), which commemorates Anne.

Anne was presumed dead by a court order made in London on 6 February 1928; she died intestate and left an estate valued at £28,265 (gross) and net personal property of £20,371.^[30]

A large memorial plaque commemorating the fateful flight and dedicated to Anne, Captain Hamilton and Colonel Minchin hangs in St Raphael's church, Kingston upon Thames.