Blue plaque unveiled for Sussex's Barbara Harmer who flew Concorde

The prestigious plaque was put up yesterday to commemorate Barbara Harmer, who grew up in Sussex.

Members of Barbara’s family, the aviation community and sailing enthusiasts attended the unveiling at Felpham Sailing Club, near Bognor.

Barbara, who grew up in Felpham, left school with no A-Levels but ended up getting into the world of aviation by becoming an instructor and eventually a pilot for British Airways after months of gruelling training.

Barbara Harmer pictured in 1993 in front of the Concorde (Image: Adam Butler/PA)

She made history by becoming the first female Concorde pilot on March 25, 1993, flying from London Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport.

Barbara died aged 57 following a battle with ovarian cancer in 2011.

Her passion for adventure started as a young girl when she would sail with her dad at the sailing club.

Barbara’s niece, Jeanne Friedman, 56, originally from Bognor, told The Argus: “She loved adventure, she was an amazing skier too. She also became a motivational speaker which I helped with.

“She was a busy working pilot but she flew all over the world speaking to all sorts of people giving talks. It was just her story. She was funny and inspirational.

Barbara Harmer pictured in 1993 in the Concorde (Image: John Connor Press Associates ltd/Argus Archive)

“Her story is quite amazing – she didn’t come from a wealthy background, she didn’t have any privilege, she left school without A-Levels before putting herself through them.

“She became a hairdresser because that was the sort of thing a girl would do then – hairdresser or secretary.

“Her friend bought a flying lesson as a gift. Aside from that, she decided she would do air traffic control, but I think it was from then she got the flying bug. She trained at Shoreham Airport, her first instructor Mike Thrower was at the unveiling.

“She then became a pilot instructor. Barbara eventually got her commercial licence. It was really tough, she told me she wrote to 50 commercial airlines to try and get a job. One offered her a job up in Humberside.

“After that, she got a job with British Caledonian. She moved to BA after they bought Caledonian out.

“They only picked something like two pilots a year to train out of thousands. She spent six months on this arduous training course.”

Amateur historian and Felpham parish councillor Kevin Watson was largely behind Felpham Parish Council’s platinum heritage blue plaque trail.

The trail commemorates Queen Elizabeth II with seven plaques representing one for each decade of the Queen’s reign.

He said the sailing club was a perfect place for the plaque due to Barbara’s love for sailing, which saw her become a Royal Yachting Association offshore yacht master.

Jeanne added: “It is incredible, absolutely incredible to be able to commemorate her. Because we lost her in 2011, she had only just retired. She had plans to sail around the world. She was very active.

"Ever since then, we have tried to keep the flame alive. It is hard to keep her memory alive because it’s just a few members of the family. This has helped lighten the load because it has gone out organically to the world.

“It is a fitting tribute.”