She was lame from polio, suffered from a weak heart which left her often breathless and needed glasses to counteract short-sight.

Suggestions for Ipswich Airport included a swimming pool, running track, theatre & sunbathing court, as well as the more expected car parks and restaurants.

Whilst there, Bunsen bought a canoe and took to paddling around the Solent with her mother as a way to counteract the stress of flying with the ATA.

[1] After a few heavy landings, Bunsen asked to be transferred to Scotland, where she was posted to "the saltmines" of Kirkbride ferry pool, and was a very successful pilot.

Her paternal grandfather was Ernest de Bunsen, a writer whose works were later taken up as part of racist Aryan mythology.