Baroness Masham of Ilton 1935 - 2023

The British Paralympic Association is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Paralympian Susan Masham, Baroness Masham of Ilton.

Susan was a pioneering athlete and one of Great Britain’s first ever Paralympic medallists who won three medals at the inaugural Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960. She claimed further Paralympic success at Tokyo 1964 and Tel Aviv 1968 where she won medals in table tennis and swimming.

Susan got involved in disability sport after meeting the founder of the Paralympic movement, Ludwig Guttmann, at Stoke Mandeville hospital in 1958 after sustaining a spinal injury in a horse-riding accident.

She became Baroness Masham of Ilton in 1970 and was the longest serving female peer in the House of Lords where she was a passionate campaigner on disability rights. In 1974 Susan founded the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), where she served as President.

In 2022 Susan was presented with an exact replica of the swimming gold medal she lost during the inaugural Rome 1960 Games at a special ceremony hosted by the British Paralympic Association.

Nick Webborn, Chair of the British Paralympic Association, said: “We are very saddened to hear the news of the passing of one of our very first Paralympians, Baroness Sue Masham of Ilton. She was an exemplar of a purposeful life well-lived.

“Through her life she was a champion of disability rights as well as a Paralympic champion. Last summer we were delighted to be able to present her with a replica of the medal she lost at the very first Paralympics in Rome and she enchanted us with stories of those early days in the Paralympic movement. A true Lady who will be missed by many. Our heartfelt condolences to all her family”.