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In memory of Baroness Masham
Baroness Masham
14 April 1935-12 March 2023
Our founder and life-long president Baroness Masham passed away peacefully at Northallerton Hospital on Sunday, 12 March.
A trail-blazing champion of disability rights, she had, amongst many personal attributes, the gift of communication – she was a great listener and was able to initiate meaningful conversations and had an uncanny ability to recall names and make introductions confidently, assuring those around her became connected and made connections.
This skill at forging connections combined with a singular, determined devotion to make a difference in the lives of spinal cord injured people was instrumental in her founding the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) in 1974.
Born Susan Lilian Primrose Sinclair in Caithness, Scotland in 1935, she moved to England for school and went on to make the country her home.
A keen sportswoman, she was 23 years old when she was paralysed from the chest down during an accident while horse riding in the 1950s.
Her rehabilitation took place at Stoke Mandeville where she met her life-long friend Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the founder of the paralympic movement. She would go on to become a 10-time Paralympic medal winner, securing her first gold in swimming [...]