| Barbara Jane Harrison | |
|---|---|
Barbara Jane Harrison |
|
| Born | Barbara Jane Harrison 24 May 1945 Bradford |
| Died | 8 April 1968 (aged 22) London Heathrow Airport |
| Cause of death | Fire |
| Resting place | Fulford Cemetery, York |
| Nationality | English |
| Other names | Jane Harrison |
| Occupation | Air Stewardess |
| Employer | British Overseas Airways Corporation |
| Known for | BOAC Flight 712 |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Parents | Alan Harrison, Lena Harrison (neé Adlard) |
| Awards | George Cross (posthumously) |
Barbara Jane Harrison, GC (24 May 1945 – 8 April 1968), was a British air stewardess. She is one of four women to have been awarded the George Cross for heroism,[1] and the only one of the four not to have served with the Special Operations Executive in occupied France during the Second World War. She is the only woman to be awarded the medal for gallantry in peacetime.
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Harrison was born on 24 May 1945 at the family home in Kingsdale Crescent, Bradford, Yorkshire to Lena and Alan Harrison. She was their second child, another daughter, Susan Elizabeth, having been born in 1941. Harrison attended Greystones School, Bradford. The family later moved to Scarborough, where Harrison attended Newby County Primary School. During the summer of 1955, Harrison's mother became seriously ill and the girls were sent to stay with an aunt for the holidays, during which time Harrison's mother died. Harrison passed her 11-plus and attended Scarborough Girls' High School. In 1961, her father moved to Doncaster. Harrison stayed on at Scarborough to complete her O levels before joining her father in the summer of 1961. She then attended Doncaster High School until Easter 1962, when she got a job at Martins Bank.[2]
Harrison remained at Martins Bank until 1964, when she decided that she wanted a change of career. She took a job as a nanny for a Swiss farmer in the Canton of Neuchâtel in order to improve her French. Harrison later took another job as a nanny in San Francisco. It was while working in San Francisco that she applied for a job as an air stewardess with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). She passed the interview and joined BOAC in May 1966, just after her twenty-first birthday. After completing her training, Harrison was assigned to work onboard BOAC's Boeing 707 fleet. Harrison moved to Emperor's Gate, Kensington, London where she shared a flat with other BOAC stewardesses. She purchased a Ford Anglia car, which she used to drive to Heathrow for work. Harrison also joined Universal Aunts, which provided staff to do any number of odd jobs. One assignment was babysitting Jason Connery.[3]
On 8 April 1968, BOAC Flight 712 left Heathrow Airport, bound indirectly for Sydney. Soon after take-off, the Boeing 707's number two engine caught fire and fell from the plane's port wing. The aircraft managed to land two-and-a-half minutes later, but fire continued to engulf the wing and spread to the fuselage. Harrison and a steward inflated the escape chute at the aft of the plane but it became entangled and the steward had to climb down to free it for use and was unable to return.
Harrison stayed at her station and helped passengers to escape as fire consumed the plane, encouraging them to jump and in some cases simply pushing them out to safety. As the fire spread, escape from the rear of the aircraft became impossible and she led the remaining passengers to another exit. She refused to leave the plane to save herself and her body was found near that of a disabled pensioner, seated in one of the last rows. Her award was published in a supplement to the London Gazette of 7 August 1968 (dated 8 August 1969).[4] She is buried in Fulford Cemetery in York.[5] Her posthumous award was for the gallantry she showed in helping passengers escape a burning aircraft in London.[6]
The Queen awarded Harrison a posthumous George Cross (GC), the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.[4] Harrison's medal was accepted on her behalf by her father, Alan.[7] Harrison is the youngest ever female recipient of the George Cross.[8]
The citation for Barbara Jane Harrison's GC reads:-[4][9]
CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD ST. JAMES'S PALACE, LONDON S.W.18th August 1969.
The QUEEN has been graciously pleased to make the undermentioned award.
GEORGE CROSS
Miss Barbara Jane HARRISON (deceased), Stewardess, British Overseas Airways Corporation.
On April 8th 1968, soon after take-off from Heathrow Airport, No. 2 engine of B.O.A.C. Boeing 707 G-ARWE caught fire and subsequently fell from the aircraft, leaving a fierce fire burning at No. 2 engine position. About two and a half minutes later the aircraft made an emergency landing at the airport and the fire on the port wing intensified. Miss Harrison was one of the stewardesses in this aircraft and the duties assigned to her in an emergency were to help the steward at the aft station to open the appropriate rear door and inflate the escape chute and then to assist the passengers at the rear of the aircraft to leave in an orderly manner. When the aircraft landed Miss Harrison and the steward concerned opened the rear galley door and inflated the chute, which unfortunately became twisted on the way down so that the steward had to climb down it to straighten it before it could be used. Once out of the aircraft he was unable to return; hence Miss Harrison was left alone to the task of shepherding passengers to the rear door and helping them out of the aircraft. She encouraged some passengers to jump from the machine and pushed out others. With flames and explosions all around her and escape from the tail of the machine impossible she directed her passengers to another exit while she remained at her post. She was finally overcome while trying to save an elderly cripple who was seated in one of the last rows and whose body was found close to that of the stewardess. Miss Harrison was a very brave young lady who gave her life in her utter devotion to duty.
The Barbara Jane Harrison, GC, Memorial Fund was set up in October 1969 with the aim of raising £1,000 by October 1970. Almost £1,500 was raised which was used to buy a computer for the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, for use by the muscular dystrophy laboratories for research into the disease.[10]
A plaque in memory of Harrison was unveiled on 23 October 1970.[11] The Barbara Harrison Prize was established in 1968 by the Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine. It is awarded to the best student on a Diploma in Aviation Medicine course whose first language is not English. The prize is now under the remit of the Department of Aviation Medicine at King's College, London. Since 2010, the Barbara Harrison Memorial Prize is awarded to the student of the Diploma in Aviation Medicine Course "who has demonstrated commitment to others and determination to succeed through the course and in gaining the Diploma".