Barbara Jane Harrison GC (24 May 1945 – 8 April 1968), known as Jane Harrison, was a British

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

who was posthumously awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

for her role in the evacuation of

BOAC Flight 712 BOAC Flight 712 ( callsign ''Speedbird 712'') was a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) service operated by a Boeing 707-465 from London Heathrow Airport bound for Sydney via Zurich and Singapore. On Monday 8 April 1968, it suffered a ...

. She is one of four women to have been awarded the George Cross for heroism and the only woman awarded the medal for gallantry in peacetime. The other three female George Cross recipients served with the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

in occupied France during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

Harrison was born on 24 May 1945 at the family home in Kingsdale Crescent,

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

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 Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, where Harrison attended Newby County Primary School. In 1955 her mother died. She passed her

11-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...

and attended Scarborough Girls' High School. In 1961, her father moved to

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

. Harrison stayed on at Scarborough to complete her

O levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

before joining her father in the summer of 1961. She then attended

Doncaster High School Doncaster (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in So ...

until Easter, 1962.

Career

After leaving school, Harrison worked at

Martins Bank Martins Bank was a London private bank, trading for much of its time under the symbol of “The Grasshopper”, that could trace its origins back to the London goldsmiths. Martins agreed to its acquisition by the Bank of Liverpool in 1918. The Ba ...

from 1962 until 1964, then took a job as a

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

for a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

farmer in the

Canton of Neuchâtel The Republic and Canton of Neuchâtel (french: République et Canton de Neuchâtel); rm, Chantun Neuchâtel; it, Cantone di Neuchâtel is a French-speaking canton in western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782, of whom 39,654 (o ...

in order to improve her French. She later took another job as a nanny in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. While in San Francisco she applied for a job as a

with

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

(BOAC), and she joined BOAC in May 1966. After completing her training, Harrison was assigned work on board BOAC's

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

fleet. She moved to Emperor's Gate,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where she shared a flat with other BOAC flight attendants, and purchased a

Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Anglias ...

car for use in getting to work at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

. She also joined Universal Aunts, which provided staff to do odd jobs; one of her assignments was babysitting

Jason Connery Jason Joseph Connery (born 11 January 1963) is a British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV drama series ''Robin of Sherwood'' in 1986. He ...

, son of actor

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

. While she enjoyed her job, long-haul flights with their several stopovers were exhausting, and she had told a friend she was considering quitting BOAC. On 8 April 1968 Harrison was rostered at her own request to work BOAC Flight 712 Whiskey Echo long-haul to Sydney, Australia, via Zurich, Tel Aviv, Tehran, Bombay (now Mumbai), Singapore and Perth. She told a colleague that she had been invited to a wedding in Sydney, but it is possible that she wanted to see a

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

pilot she had met some months before.

Death at her post

On 8 April 1968, Harrison (aged 22) was a flight attendant aboard

when it left

at 16.27 BST, bound indirectly for

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Her George Cross citation recites what happened almost immediately after takeoff: According to witnesses, after the escape chute had been burnt away Harrison continued to force passengers to safety by pushing them out the door, even as "flames and smoke erelicking around her face". She then seemed to be preparing to jump but instead turned back inside; there was another explosion and she was not seen alive again. Her body was found with four others near the rear door; all had died from asphyxia.

Anthony Crosland Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 191819 February 1977) was a British Labour Party politician and author. A social democrat on the right wing of the Labour Party, he was a prominent socialist intellectual. His influential book ''The ...

(

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centu ...

and the minister responsible for civil aviation) later wrote of Harrison's "lonely and courageous action" and "devotion to duty, in the highest traditions of her calling". In August 1969 Harrison became the only woman to receive the George Cross in peacetime, and its youngest female recipient. It is now at British Airways' Speedbird Centre, which is dedicated to the history of the crew and story of

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

Memorials

The "Barbara Jane Harrison, GC, Memorial Fund", set up in October 1969, raised £1,500 towards purchase of a computer for the

National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (informally the National Hospital or Queen Square) is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the f ...

, London, for use by the

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

laboratories for research into the disease. A plaque in memory of Harrison was unveiled on 23 October 1970. The ''Barbara Harrison Prize'' was established in 1968 by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Institute of Aviation Medicine. It is awarded to the best student on a Diploma in Aviation Medicine course whose first language is not

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. The prize is now under the remit of the Department of Aviation Medicine at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. 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". Also in 1970, a plaque memorial was unveiled in St George's Interdenominational Chapel in

dedicated to Harrison. A plaque remembering Harrison is on the churchyard wall of St Laurence's Church, Scalby, Scarborough. She is also commemorated with a memorial display in

Bradford City Hall Bradford City Hall is a 19th-century town hall in Centenary Square, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building which has a distinctive clock tower. History Before its relocation, between 1847 and 1873, the town hall ...

Sources and further reading

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References