BArBArA hArmEr  FrOm hAIrdrESSEr TO CONCOrdE PILOT

Last month Felpham honoured a lady who literally broke barriers in every sense of the word with a blue plaque placed at Felpham Sailing Club.

Speaking at the unveiling of the plaque at Felpham Sailing Club, dave Smart, chairman of Felpham Parish Council said: “I am delighted to be unveiling our latest blue plaque which commemorates former resident Captain Barbara harmer, the first woman to pilot Concorde on a commercial flight, as well as being a champion yachtswoman, intrepid skier and inspirational public speaker.

“This is the latest in Felpham’s blue plaque heritage trail which officially recognises the lives and achievements of people from our village. We have chosen today – International Women’s day – for the unveiling because Barbara inspired and motivated so many women of her generation to work hard to achieve their dreams.” mr Smart told the huge crowd of Barbara’s family, friends and Felpham residents who had assembled outside Felpham Sailing Club, in spite of the howling wind and rain, that Barbara and her family moved to Felpham from Essex in 1953 when she was a baby. he added: “At 15 Barbara trained as a hairdresser but soon decided that was not the career for her and became an air traffic controller at Gatwick airport. She returned to her studies; took flying lessons, gaining both her private and commercial licences, and became a flying instructor at Goodwood.

“Over the next few years, she flew with British Caledonian which was later bought by British Airways. At the time BA employed more than 3,500 pilots – just 60 were women and no woman had ever piloted the supersonic Concorde. That became her ambition and after rigorous selection, training and qualification; her first commercial flight as a Concorde pilot took place on march 25, 1993, between heathrow and New york JFK.

“Barbara remains one of only three women – and the first - to have flown Concorde commercially. The mach 2 flights to New york became routine and she loved seeing the world from 60,000ft while travelling at 1,350mph. She flew Concorde until the iconic aircraft was officially retired and then moved on to the Boeing 777.

“Barbara’s achievements weren’t just in the air. She was an intrepid downhill skier and a fully qualified commercial yacht master – hence the association with Felpham Sailing Club. She often commanded Concorde crew in international yachting events and won several races. Barbara had planned to take part in a transatlantic event in her yacht in 2013 but sadly died of cancer in 2011 at the age of 57.”

Jeanne Friedman, Barbara’s niece, flew over from America, to be with her family in Felpham for the unveiling of Barbara’s blue plaque. She said: “On behalf of Barbara’s family, many who are here today and some who sadly cannot be, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you for recognizing Barbara’s achievements in this wonderful way. Felpham was Barbara’s home and was so special to her and we think she would whole-heartedly approve of this perfect location for this plaque. For generations, people will continue to discover, stop and read and her story will continue to inspire and give hope.

“Barbara was a very loved and central part of our family. Sister, daughter, aunt, great aunt and now a great, great aunt. Barbara would have turned 70 this September and we know what a fantastic party that would have been! Barbara had a true love of life. She was so much fun, with her infectious laugh and a huge smile that always lit up the room. She was kind, thoughtful and generous. Even though she was always so busy, she made time to see her family and friends. She was spontaneous; lunch parties, garden barbecues, just popping in to see everyone. She always lifted our spirits and put on a great food spread … her roast potatoes were the best!

“I have so many wonderful memories of Barbara, although my aunt she often felt more like my big sister. We spent hours sanding and varnishing her boat in the driveway, horse riding and she introduced me to tennis, which I still love. It was 1977, I was 10 years old. Barbara drove me to South Wales in her Triumph Spitfire convertible to visit her dad (my Grandad) and it was a big adventure! I remember Stevie Wonder’s song ‘Sir duke’ playing on the radio, my passenger seat so low down I could not see over the dashboard.

“during our visit, Barbara said ‘We are going to climb a mountain’. I remember a feeling of fear as she took my hand and told me ‘that I could do it’. As we climbed and navigated the steep, dark grey, slippery rocks she kept me positive, motivated and looking forward. It was a pivotal moment that I will never forget. Barbara, gave me strength, inspiration and told me ‘that we can all climb mountains’. Now, all these years on, I realise this was a metaphor that I took with me throughout my life, as she did through hers.

“There was just something about Barbara that everyone loved; her resolve, determination, nothing phased her. She set herself goals and sacrificed much to drive herself forward. Along the way she was kind, loving, charismatic and charming, always giving of her time and wisdom.

“Even though Barbara was asked a million times ‘What’s it like being the first female Concorde pilot?’ – she always stopped and told her story willingly, graciously and with so much enthusiasm. In fact, Barbara shared her unique journey, from mobile hairdresser to Concorde pilot, with audiences all over the world who were truly captivated as she shared her personal experiences with photos, videos and plenty of anecdotes. They got to see first-hand the Barbara harmer we knew and loved and were inspired to ‘climb their own mountains’.

Joyce, Barbara’s eldest sister remembers when Barbara surprised her for her birthday, with a flight in her plane. Barbara’s niece, helen, said: “Barbara lived life in the fast lane, she had an amazing life travelling around the world, taking up sailing, being free to explore the sea and competing in racing competitions. A true free spirit.”

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Carole harmer, Barbara’s sister who now lives in Aldwick, helped to unveil the plaque with her sister Joyce. She said: “When we moved to Felpham as a family we took up residence on the estate at the end of the beach huts.

“This was a great place for kids to grow up. We had a large garden, a green outside the front of the house and the beach where we could play, build sand castles, investigate rock pools and swim. The estate even had its own tennis court, where we would often play.

“As we grew older, horizons expanded. dad bought a sailing dinghy. he sailed at this very yacht club and took us out in his dinghy. I preferred to be in the water, but Barbara loved being on the water and stayed with boats. ross Fisher, the current President of the Felpham Sailing Club taught Barbara to sail.

“Our sister, Joyce bought a horse called Pablo and Barbara became interested in learning to ride. She learnt to ride at the local village stables. When she was older, she learnt to jump and

To contact VILLAGES IN FOCUS please email: office@infocusmagazines.co.uk bought her own horse, the Count of monty Cristo’. She could be found riding along the beach jumping the breakwaters.

It was while Barbara had moved away from hairdressing and working as an ATC (Air Traffic Control) assistant at Gatwick; a work colleague bought her a birthday present that was to change her life – a flying lesson. She loved it and followed this up by continuing her flying lessons at mercury Flying Club at Shoreham airport. her flying instructor is here today, mike Thrower and the rest is history, so to speak.

“There are so many memories, I’d love to share with you, but there is one memory that speaks about Barbara’s character and that is the estate sailing race.

“When we lived on the estate in our parent’s home, Barbara had an idea. Quite a few of the estate residents had a sailing dinghy. Why not have a sailing race? She asked around the residents and there was a favourable response. So, Barbara set about organising the event. She asked the FSC for permission to use the club’s race-course with the help of the race stewards to oversee proceedings. She organised the food, the volunteers, the after-race barbeque, drinks and the ceremony to award the race cup winner, which was named ‘The harmer Star’ cup, after our dad’s dinghy.

“Barbara organised the lot, from putting up posters to slicing the onions – it was like a military operation and everyone helped. Barbara could motivate and inspire people. She was a good facilitator and through these gifts she brought about the annual estate boat race and ‘The harmer Star’ cup was passed to the new race winner every year. People were enthused, excited and willing participants in what turned out to be an ‘event’ in our estate’s own history – it was wonderful.

“As I stand here and look out across the beach, the sea and towards our estate, I remember Barbara. She is in my mind and in my heart and will never be forgotten whilst we remember.”

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