Lieutenant-Commander Home Ronald Archibald Kidston (11 March 1910 – January 1996) was a Royal Navy officer, farmer and racing driver.

Early life

Kidston was born on the 11th of March 1910 in

Cadogan Square Cadogan Square () is a residential square in Knightsbridge, London, that was named after Earl Cadogan. Whilst it is mainly a residential area, some of the properties are used for diplomatic and educational purposes (notably Hill House School). ...

, London, the son of Captain Archibald Glen Kidston and Hélène Adeline Blanche Chapman. His older brother was Glen Kidston, the record-breaking aviator and motor racing driver. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

Career

Royal Navy

Kidston joined the Royal Navy, being promoted from acting sub-lieutenant to sub-lieutenant on 1 January 1932, and to lieutenant on 1 July 1934. During the Second World War, he commanded the motor anti-submarine boat ''MA/SB.6'', as part of the 2nd Motor Anti-Submarine Boat Flotilla, based at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in 1940. He then served as Anti-Submarine Officer aboard , under

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

, from February 1941 until her sinking off Crete on 23 May 1941. Kidston was promoted to lieutenant-commander on 1 July 1942, and later commanded his own destroyer, from October 1944 until December 1945. He retired from the Navy on 21 January 1947.

Farmer

In 1947, Kidston retired to farm his estate at Southover House,

Tolpuddle Tolpuddle () is a village in Dorset, England, on the River Piddle from which it takes its name, east of Dorchester, the county town, and west of Poole. The estimated population in 2013 was 420. The village was home to the Tolpuddle Martyrs, ...

, Dorset. In 1976, he moved to Italy to grow olives and wine at Il Gallinaio, near

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

Cars

Aged 14, he acquired a Morgan three-wheeler, and while a student at Eton, a Type 37A Bugatti. After he joined the Royal Navy, he bought an

MG K3 The MG K-type Magnette is a motor car produced in the United Kingdom by MG from October 1932 to 1934. Launched at the 1932 London Motor Show, the K-Type replaced the F-Type Magna but having at first a slightly smaller capacity engine it took ...

and a Bentley 4½. He was later posted to New Zealand, and "raised eyebrows" when he arrived with his

de Havilland DH.60 Moth The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Development The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane. ...

aircraft, Vosper racing speedboat and a Mercedes-Benz S. His on-road speeding antics earned him much coverage in the New Zealand press and various far-flung court appearances which his aircraft proved useful for attending. After he returned to England, he raced a Type 51 Bugatti and the ex-Howe Alfa Romeo 2.3 Le Mans car, and entering several

Frazer Nash Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed t ...

BMWs in Alpine trials. His later road cars included a Bugatti 57C, a Lancia Aurelia B20 GT, a

Mercedes-Benz 300SL The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (chassis code W 198) is a two-seat sports car which was produced by Mercedes-Benz as a gullwinged coupe (1954–1957) and roadster (1957–1963).Werner Oswald: ''Mercedes-Benz Personenwagen 1945–1985''. Motorbuch Ve ...

and a Porsche Carrera 2.7RS. Kidston ordered his Type 57C from the Bugatti showroom in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

in 1938 while on shore leave, and it was delivered to England the following year. He sold it in 1955. Kidston was one of the first in the UK to purchase a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing coupé, in April 1955.

Aircraft

Also a keen pilot, Kidston owned a

de Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...

DH.60M Moth ''G-AAXG'' (c/n 1542) which was built in 1930 for de Havilland company chairman Alan S. Butler, who flew it in the 1930

King's Cup Air Race The King's Cup air race Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, ...

and finished second, as well as won the prize for the highest speed achieved at . Kidston shipped the Moth to New Zealand in 1933, selling it there in 1935. In June 1934 Kidston registered his brother's

Lockheed Vega The Lockheed Vega is an American five- to seven-seat high-wing monoplane airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to the rugged and very l ...

(''G-ABGK'') to take part in the

MacRobertson Air Race The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race (also known as the London to Melbourne Air Race) took place in October 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Gengoult Smith, and th ...

from England to Australia. However, it was an Australian, Jimmie Woods, who actually flew the aircraft in the race, which overturned on landing at

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, and was forced to withdraw. In 1936 he bought the DH.85 Leopard Moth ''G-AEFR'' (c/n 7125), based at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

. Kidston continued to fly into his 70s.

Boats

In 1959 Kidston acquired a John G. Alden-designed motor yacht (Design No. 916) which he named ''Pasadena'', built for him by R. & W. Clark Ltd. of

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

Personal life

His first wife was Lady Georgiana Mary Curzon, the daughter of

Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, (1 May 1884, Mayfair, London – 26 July 1964, Amersham, Buckinghamshire),"Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe; Ex-Member of Parliament and Racing Driver Dies". ''The New York Times'' (Monday, 27 Ju ...

and

Mary Curzon, Lady Howe Mary Curzon, Lady Howe (30 October 1887 – 1 September 1962) was an English aristocrat dubbed by the newspapers the Queen of Beauty. Early life Mary Curzon was born on 30 October 1887, the only daughter of Esmé FitzRoy and Col. Montagu Curzon, ...

. They had one son, Glen Kidston (b. 1937), and divorced in 1943. His second wife was American heiress Eleanor Keith. He later married Erica Lanz and had two children, Simon Kidston (b. 1967), the classic car dealer, and Nicholas Kidston (b. 1969), who died in a motorcycle accident in 2011. Kidston had 3 grandchildren, Cassius Kidston and Constance Kidston (Simon Kidston) and Sofia Kidston (Nicholas Kidston).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidston, Home Ronald Archibald 1910 births 1996 deaths British car collectors British expatriates in Italy

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

People educated at Eton College People from Knightsbridge Military personnel from London Racing drivers from London Royal Navy officers of World War II