Patricia was born on 1 February 1922, the daughter of Colonel and Mrs Arthur Sullivan of London SW7.

As a civilian serving with the Foreign Office in Whitehall, Patricia lost her life in the service of her country on her 23rd birthday on 1 February 1945 and is buried within Imtarfa Military Cemetery on the island of Malta.

Patricia was a passenger in an Avro York C1 RAF transport aircraft [MW116] that crashed into the sea at 19.34 hrs and broke up during an attempted crash landing on water off Lampedusa island in the Mediterranean.

This aircraft was one of a number carrying staff and other personnel involved in the upcoming Yalta Conference [4th/11th February 1945] to be attended by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and General Secretary Joseph Stalin of the USSR.

A series of errors in navigation, out-of-date weather forecasts, and lack of reliable radio bearings caused confusion. The aircraft circled over Lampedusa for over an hour and it seems there was some confusion about whether they thought they were at Malta but could not pinpoint their position.

Of the nineteen occupants on board several were lost to the sea and have no known grave.

Patricia was one of six Foreign Office personnel who lost their lives that day and a memorial service in their name was held at St Margaret's, Westminster on 11 April 1945.