years and desired to live in a more hospitable climate. Jamaica, which Batten and her mother had visited in 1939, appealed as a place to settle permanently. When the Battens arrived in November 1946, few of their friends knew where they were living; they maintained a poste restante at Thomas Cook & Son in London. Initially renting a house, they later bought a plot of land on the coast and had a dwelling, which Batten named 'Blue Horizon', built on it. By 1953, Batten and her mother desired a return to England. 'Blue Horizon' was sold, along with their furniture, and they departed shortly afterwards by ship for Liverpool. Before they left, they invested in plots of land in Discovery Bay. For the next seven years, the duo toured Europe, going on numerous road trips and staying in low-budget hotels. The land they had purchased before leaving Jamaica was developed and sold in 1957 for a significant profit, helping fund their Europe sojourn. With Batten's mother now in her eighties and struggling with the cold of the European winters, they spent an increasing period of time in the south of Spain. Finding the area particularly to their liking, in 1960 they purchased a villa in the Costa de Sol. They based themselves there until 1965, at which time they sold the villa and resumed their travels, beginning with a trip to Portugal by road and then travelling onto Madeira. At about the same time, Batten was invited to attend the opening of the new Auckland International Airport, sited at Mangere. Writing from Maderia, she declined on account of the event conflicting with a prearranged tour of the Canary Islands and Morocco. Batten's mother was 89 by the time they began their trip to the Canary Islands. She died on 19 July 1966 on the island of Tenerife, at San Marcos, a fishing village where the two had rented an apartment. Batten arranged for the interment of her mother's remains at an Anglican cemetery in Puerto de la Cruz. The headstone inscription read "Ellen Batten beloved mother of Jean Batten" and lacked acknowledgement of her other children or her husband Fred Batten. The words "Jean Batten" were inscribed in a larger font size than that used for her mother's name. In a state of depression, Batten disregarded an offer from her brother to stay with him in Auckland and instead went