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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.
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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
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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 licking around her face". She then seemed to be preparing to jump but instead turned back inside; there was another explosion
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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
432:. 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".
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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
211:. She is one of four women to have been awarded the George Cross for heroism, and the only woman awarded the medal on that basis for gallantry in peacetime. The other three female George Cross recipients served with the
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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
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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".
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The "Barbara Jane
Harrison, GC, Memorial Fund", set up in October 1969, raised ÂŁ1,500 towards purchase of a computer for the
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and she was not seen alive again. Her body was found with four others near the rear door; all had died from asphyxia.
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318:. She also joined Universal Aunts, which provided staff to do odd jobs; one of her assignments was babysitting
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424:. It is awarded to the best student on a Diploma in Aviation Medicine course whose first language is not
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dedicated to
Harrison. A plaque remembering Harrison is on the churchyard wall of St Laurence's Church,
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Other women have received awards that were later replaced by the GC for actions in peacetime
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711:"Yorkshire air hostess who died in Heathrow plane fire to be honoured for her heroism"
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354:. Her George Cross citation recites what happened almost immediately after takeoff:
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Harrison was born on 24 May 1945 at the family home in
Kingsdale Crescent,
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After completing her training, Harrison was assigned work on board BOAC's
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in order to improve her French. She later took another job as a nanny in
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686:"An ordinary woman whose bravery saved the lives of over 100 people"
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A plaque in memory of
Harrison was unveiled on 23 October 1970. The
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before joining her father in the summer of 1961. She then attended
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On 8 April 1968, Harrison (aged 22) was a flight attendant aboard
660:"George Cross (GC) Database – Highest civilian gallantry award"
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O'Brien, Tim (June 2008). "The Last Flight of Whiskey Echo".
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764:"Bradford air stewardess included in national biography"
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Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in England
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287:. While in San Francisco she applied for a job as a
251:. Harrison stayed on at Scarborough to complete her
840:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1968
739:. The Friends of the Green Howards. Archived from
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435:Also in 1970, a plaque memorial was unveiled in
404:National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
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636:. Chameleon HH Publishing Ltd. Archived from
533:Fire Over Heathrow. The Tragedy of Flight 712
410:laboratories for research into the disease.
195:(24 May 1945 – 8 April 1968), known as
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271:from 1962 until 1964, then took a job as a
634:"Barbara Jane Harrison, GC (Posthumously)"
622:(Supplement). 7 August 1969. p. 8211.
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295:(BOAC), and she joined BOAC in May 1966.
267:After leaving school, Harrison worked at
168:Alan Harrison, Lena Harrison (née Adlard)
815:People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire
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805:British recipients of the George Cross
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437:St George's Interdenominational Chapel
334:pilot she had met some months before.
19:For other people with this name, see
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302:fleet. She moved to Emperor's Gate,
293:British Overseas Airways Corporation
149:British Overseas Airways Corporation
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350:at 16.27 BST, bound indirectly for
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737:"A Memorial to Honour the Bravest"
314:car for use in getting to work at
207:for her role in the evacuation of
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203:who was posthumously awarded the
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684:Kennedy, Poppy (5 April 2018).
417:was established in 1968 by the
372:President of the Board of Trade
247:. In 1961, her father moved to
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422:Institute of Aviation Medicine
245:Scarborough Girls' High School
215:in occupied France during the
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558:. 36, Number 6 (422): 30–35.
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768:Bradford Telegraph and Argus
762:Kilner, Will (27 May 2010).
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213:Special Operations Executive
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820:Accidental deaths in London
516:Sources and further reading
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16:British flight attendant
394:Harrison's gravestone,
96:London Heathrow Airport
430:King's College, London
415:Barbara Harrison Prize
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114:Fulford Cemetery, York
664:www.gc-database.co.uk
469:United Kingdom portal
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257:Doncaster High School
190:Barbara Jane Harrison
59:Barbara Jane Harrison
32:Barbara Jane Harrison
810:People from Bradford
690:The Scarborough News
259:until Easter, 1962.
717:. 23 September 2019
589:George Cross Heroes
281:Canton of Neuchâtel
103:Cause of death
743:on 31 October 2007
640:on 13 October 2007
619:The London Gazette
587:Michael Ashcroft,
449:Bradford City Hall
408:muscular dystrophy
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825:Flight attendants
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348:Heathrow Airport
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139:Flight attendant
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771:. Retrieved
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90:(1968-04-08)
88:8 April 1968
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800:1968 deaths
795:1945 births
747:19 November
644:19 November
614:"No. 44913"
312:Ford Anglia
237:Scarborough
119:Nationality
69:24 May 1945
789:Categories
575:References
304:Kensington
300:Boeing 707
223:Early life
181:posthumous
135:Occupation
65:1945-05-24
721:14 August
564:0143-7240
556:Aeroplane
386:Memorials
249:Doncaster
165:Parent(s)
79:, England
455:See also
253:O levels
229:Bradford
145:Employer
73:Bradford
426:English
396:Fulford
241:11-plus
122:British
773:3 June
695:29 May
669:29 May
591:, 2010
562:
445:Scalby
352:Sydney
332:Qantas
308:London
275:for a
263:Career
173:Awards
291:with
277:Swiss
273:nanny
775:2014
749:2007
723:2022
697:2018
671:2018
646:2007
560:ISSN
106:Fire
85:Died
55:Born
439:in
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605:^
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527:A.
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