British Airways acquires Harrison’s George Cross medal and displays it at its Heathrow archive museum.
In 1987, British Airways, successor to BOAC, purchased Barbara Jane Harrison’s George Cross medal and placed it on display in the airline’s archive museum at Heathrow. The medal, previously in private hands, thus became part of the institutional heritage of the airline for which Harrison had worked.
Although the precise acquisition date is not specified in available sources, the 1987 transfer marked an important step in the formal commemoration of Harrison within the aviation industry. By bringing the medal into a public‑facing corporate collection, British Airways ensured that staff, researchers and visitors could encounter tangible evidence of her bravery.
This decision reflected broader 1980s efforts to preserve and interpret civil‑aviation history, including the experiences of cabin crew. Displaying a George Cross awarded to a young stewardess for peacetime gallantry elevated the status of flight attendants within the airline’s narrative of its own past, countering stereotypes and acknowledging the risks embedded in their work.
In women’s‑history terms, the museum display contributes to Harrison’s posthumous visibility, situating her alongside aircraft, route maps and technical artifacts as a central figure in the story of British Airways. It allows her heroism to be integrated into corporate training, public tours and educational outreach, reinforcing the message that courage and professionalism in emergency situations are core values of the airline and that a young woman from Bradford exemplified them in the most extreme circumstances.