Pamela Espeut Barton (4 March 1917 – 13 November 1943) was an English amateur

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

er. She was born in the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

suburb of Barnes, the daughter of Henry Charles Johnston Barton and Ethel Maude Barton. 1931 saw Barton's first public appearance on a golf course at

Stoke Poges Golf Club Stoke Park is a private sporting and leisure estate in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire. The mansion building (designed by James Wyatt in 1788) is located in the middle of of parkland, lakes, gardens and monuments. In 1908, it became the first countr ...

, in the Girls' Open Championship, where she came to notice for hitting the ball further than anyone else. In 1934, aged 17, she won the

French International Ladies Golf Championship French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

and after being runner-up in 1934 and 1935, she won the 1936 British Ladies Amateur. She then traveled to the

Canoe Brook Country Club Canoe Brook Country Club is a private, member-owned 36-hole country club founded in 1901 and located in the New Jersey towns of Summit and Short Hills. Both of Canoe Brook's courses have been extensively renovated by Rees Jones, whom the club cred ...

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

where she won the

U.S. Women's Amateur The U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA). F ...

over Maureen Orcutt. Her victory was the first by a foreign competitor in 23 years and the first time in 27 years that a player held both the British and U.S. titles simultaneously. Barton was a member of the British team to compete in the 1934 and 1936

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...

and in 1937 her book ''A Stroke a Hole'' was published in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by Blackie & Son. In 1939, Barton won her second British Ladies Amateur but following the outbreak of

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

she immediately signed up as an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

driver and served in London through the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended ...

. In early 1941 she joined the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

(WAAF) as a radio operator, later gaining a commission she served as a

Flight Officer The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and also an air force rank in several Commonwealth countries, where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of fligh ...

in command of a staff of more than 600 at

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpo ...

in Kent. On 13 November 1943, 26-year-old Barton was killed in an air crash at

RAF Detling Royal Air Force Detling or more simply RAF Detling is a former Royal Air Force station situated above sea level, located near Detling, a village about miles north-east of Maidstone, Kent. It was a station of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS ...

when a de Havilland Tiger Moth in which she was a passenger hit a fuel bowser on take-off in bad weather. She was buried with military honours at the

Margate Cemetery St John’s Cemetery, Margate is a cemetery located in Margate, Kent in England. The cemetery dates back to 1856 History The Surf Boat Memorial is a Grade II listed building in Margate Cemetery. Notable burials * John Allen (RAF officer), ...

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significant m ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Her friend and pilot of the Tiger Moth was Flight Lieutenant Angus Ruffhead survived the crash but was killed in action over France a few weeks later. In her honour, the "Pam Barton Memorial Salver" is awarded to the winner of the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship. Also a course has been named after her at Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club, Richmond.Royal Mid-Surrey GC In his 2001 book, ''The Golf 100: Ranking the Greatest (Female) Golfers of All Time'', Robert McCord ranked Pamela Barton 34th.

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a max ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

(tie) * Vagliano Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1934 (tie), 1936 (winners), 1937 (winners), 1938 (winners), 1939 (winners)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Pamela English female golfers Amateur golfers Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Women's Auxiliary Air Force officers People from Barnes, London Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in England Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943 1917 births 1943 deaths 20th-century English women 20th-century English people