[2] At the outbreak of World War Two, Howden enlisted with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, where she was posted as Airwoman of the Watch at 2 Elementary Flying Training School at Woodbourne.

[3] While serving with the ATA, she flew twenty-two different types of planes, including Spitfires, Fireflies, Barracudas, and Mustangs.

Howden flew all over Britain, transporting mail, dispatches and medical supplies and ferrying new repaired and damaged aircraft between factories, assembly plants, active-service squadrons and airfields.

She gained a commercial pilot's licence and worked for Waikato Aero Club for six years, it was here that she met her future husband Robert William Gummer.

Bob Gummer was a fellow pilot who served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in the Pacific during the Second World War.