Lady Myra Idina Sackville (26 February 1893 – 5 November 1955) was an English
aristocrat
The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...
and member of the
Happy Valley set
The Happy Valley set was a group of hedonistic, largely British and Anglo-Irish aristocrats and adventurers who settled in the "Happy Valley" region of the Wanjohi Valley, near the Aberdare mountain range, in colonial Kenya and Uganda between ...
. Her behaviour and lifestyle scandalised middle class society.
Early life
Lady Myra Idina Sackville was born on 26 February 1893 and was known by her middle name, Idina. She was the daughter of
Gilbert Sackville, 8th Earl De La Warr
Major Gilbert George Reginald Sackville, 8th Earl De La Warr JP, DL (22 March 1869 – 16 December 1915), styled The Honourable Gilbert Sackville until 1890 and Viscount Cantelupe between 1890 and 1896, was a British landowner, politician and ...
(1869–1915) and the former Lady Muriel Agnes Brassey. She had two younger siblings, sister Lady Avice (wife of Sir
Stewart Menzies
Major General Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, (; 30 January 1890 – 29 May 1968) was Chief of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), from 1939 to 1952, during and after the Second World War.
Early life, family
Stewart Graham Menzies wa ...
) and brother
Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr
Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, (20 June 1900 – 28 January 1976), styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 (and sometimes nicknamed "Buck De La Warr" after that), was a British politician. He was the first heredita ...
. After her mother died in August 1930, her father remarried to Hilda Mary Clavering Tredcroft, daughter of Colonel Charles Lennox Tredcroft.
Her paternal grandparents were
Reginald Sackville, 7th Earl De La Warr
Reginald Windsor Sackville, 7th Earl De La Warr (21 February 1817 – 5 January 1896), styled The Honourable Reginald West until 1843, as The Honourable Reginald Sackville between 1843 and 1870 and known as the Lord Buckhurst between 1870 and 1873 ...
and the Hon. Constance Baillie-Cochrane (daughter of
Alexander Baillie-Cochrane, 1st Baron Lamington
Alexander Dundas Ross Cochrane-Wishart-Baillie, 1st Baron Lamington (24 November 1816 – 15 February 1890), better known as Alexander Baillie-Cochrane, was a British Conservative politician perhaps best known for his association with Young Englan ...
). Her cousin was the writer
Vita Sackville-West
Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer.
Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...
(only child of cousins
Victoria Sackville-West
Victoria Josefa Dolores Catalina Sackville-West (Baroness Sackville), (23 September 1862 – 30 January 1936) was a British noblewoman, mother of the writer, poet, and gardener Vita Sackville-West.
Early life
Victoria was one of seven ...
and
Lionel Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville
Lionel Edward Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville (15 May 1867 – 28 January 1928), was a British peer.
Sackville-West was the son of the Honourable William Edward Sackville-West, sixth son of George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr and Lady ...
). Her mother was the daughter of
Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey
Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey (11 February 1836 – 23 February 1918), was a British Liberal Party politician, Governor of Victoria and founder of ''The Naval Annual''.
Background and education
Brassey was the eldest son of the railway ma ...
, and
Anna Allnutt (daughter of merchant
John Allnutt
John Allnutt (1773–1863), was a British wine merchant and art collector. Alnutt was a patron of John Constable, J. M. W. Turner and Thomas Lawrence.
Allnutt was a weathly merchant of wine and brandy, who was a significant patron of the arts in ...
). Her uncle was
Thomas Brassey, 2nd Earl Brassey
Thomas Allnutt Brassey, 2nd Earl Brassey TD, DL, JP, MInstNA, AMICE (7 March 1863 – 12 November 1919), styled Viscount Hythe between 1911 and 1918, was a British peer, who was for many years editor or joint editor of ''Brassey's Naval Annu ...
and her aunt was
Marie Freeman-Thomas, Marchioness of Willingdon
Marie Adelaide Freeman-Thomas, Marchioness of Willingdon, (née Brassey; 24 March 1875 – 30 January 1960) was a daughter of Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey. On 20 July 1892, she married Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (12 ...
.
Personal life
![Idina Wallace, by William Orpen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Idina_Wallace%2C_by_William_Orpen.jpg)
Lady Idina married and divorced five times.
In 1913, at the age of 20, she married Rt. Hon. Captain
David Euan Wallace
David Euan Wallace, MC PC (20 April 1892 – 9 February 1941) was a British Conservative politician who was an ally of Neville Chamberlain and briefly served as Minister of Transport during World War II.
Early life
Wallace was born on 20 Apr ...
(d. 1941),
the son of John Wallace of Glassingall, on 26 November 1913. In homage to her childhood home, Lady Idina designed Kildonan House,
Barrhill, South Ayrshire with the architect
James Miller. She never saw the building finished, however, having split from Wallace before its completion. Before their divorce in 1919, they were the parents of two sons:
* David John Wallace (1914–1944), who married Joan Prudence Magor in 1939. He was
killed in action in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and she married Gerald Frederick Walter de Winton in 1948.
* Gerard Euan Wallace (1915–1943), who married Elizabeth Lawson, in 1940. He was also killed in action during World War II.
After their divorce, her first husband took custody of their sons and he remarried to Barbara Lutyens (the daughter of Sir
Edwin Landseer Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memori ...
) in May 1920.
On 27 March 1919, she married Capt. Charles Gordon of Park Hill,
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, the second son of Alexander Gordon-Cuming-Skene (''later'' Gordon) of
Pitlurg and the former Ada Wilson. They divorced, without issue, in 1923.
On 22 September 1923, she married for the third time, to
Josslyn Hay, Lord Kilmarnock and was thus styled Lady Kilmarnock. They moved to
Kenya
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in 1924, financing the move with Idina's money. Their home was a bungalow on the slopes of the
Aberdare Range
The Aberdare Range (formerly the Sattima Range, Kikuyu: ''Nyandarua'') is a 160 km (100 mile) long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of . It straddles across the counties of Nyandarua, Nye ...
which they called ''Slains'', after the former Hay family seat of
Slains Castle
Slains Castle may refer to one of two ruined castles in Aberdeenshire, Scotland:
* Old Slains Castle, a 13th-century castle was originally the property of the Comyn Earls of Buchan, near Collieston
*New Slains Castle, a 16th-century tower house, b ...
which had been sold by Hay's grandfather, the
20th Earl, in 1916. The bungalow was sited alongside the high altitude farms which other white Kenyans were establishing at the time. After his father's death in 1928, he became the 22nd
Earl of Erroll
Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. ...
and Idina became the Countess of Erroll.
The
Happy Valley set
The Happy Valley set was a group of hedonistic, largely British and Anglo-Irish aristocrats and adventurers who settled in the "Happy Valley" region of the Wanjohi Valley, near the Aberdare mountain range, in colonial Kenya and Uganda between ...
were a group of elite, colonial
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
s who became notorious for
drug use,
drinking
Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among o ...
,
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
and
promiscuity
Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different Sexual partner, partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as pro ...
. She and her husband soon became a part of this group and accumulated debts leading to their subsequent divorce, brought on by him cheating her financially.
They had one child together:
*
Diana Denyse Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll (1926–1978), who married
Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk in 1946. They divorced in 1964 and, later that year, she married Maj.
Raymond Carnegie, a grandson of
Charles Carnegie, 7th Earl of Southesk.
After their divorce, their daughter was taken home to England to be raised firstly by her uncle
Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr
Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, (20 June 1900 – 28 January 1976), styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 (and sometimes nicknamed "Buck De La Warr" after that), was a British politician. He was the first heredita ...
, and then by her aunt Lady Avice Spicer in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. In 1930, Lord Erroll married Edith Maude ("Molly") Ramsay-Hill, who had been named in their divorce.
She died in 1939 and the following year, Lord Erroll met, and subsequently had an affair with Diana, Lady Broughton, the wife of
Sir Jock Delves Broughton, Bt. Sir Jock found out about the affair and in 1941, Lord Erroll was found shot dead in his
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
in Kenya.
The murder was never solved but Sir Jock committed suicide not long thereafter.
On 22 November 1930, Lady Idina married Donald Carmichael Haldeman, at the Shoreham Register Office in Kent.
Haldeman, an
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 ...
graduate and former soldier with the
19th Royal Hussars
The 19th Royal Hussars (Queen Alexandra's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, created in 1858. After serving in the First World War, it was amalgamated with the 15th The King's Hussars to form the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars ...
, was a son of John Haldeman.
They divorced in 1938, without issue. In 1939, she married F/Lt William Vincent Soltau of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
. They divorced, without issue, in 1946.
Lady Idina died in 1955 at the age of 62. Soltau died on 1 August 1964.
Descendants
Through her eldest son David, she was a grandmother of Cary Davina Wallace (wife of
David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford
David Arthur Russell Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, (born 18 January 1936) is a British Conservative Party politician, journalist, and economic consultant. Having been successively Secretary of State for Energy and then for Transport under ...
and mother of
Frances (née Howell) Osborne, the author of ''The Bolter'', a biography of Idina, and wife of former
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...
),
and Laura Jacqueline Wallace (b. 1941), who married Dominic Paul Morland in 1963, and, secondly, Keith Fitchett, in 2003.
In popular culture
* The notorious
Happy Valley set
The Happy Valley set was a group of hedonistic, largely British and Anglo-Irish aristocrats and adventurers who settled in the "Happy Valley" region of the Wanjohi Valley, near the Aberdare mountain range, in colonial Kenya and Uganda between ...
was depicted in ''
White Mischief'', a film dramatising the events surrounding the murder of Lady Idina's third husband
Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll
Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll (11 May 1901 – 24 January 1941)Cokayne et al., ''The Complete Peerage'', volume I, p.1337 was a British peer, known for the unsolved case surrounding his murder and the sensation it caused during wartime ...
based on the book of the same name by
James Fox
William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', ''The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performanc ...
.
*
Nancy Mitford
Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London s ...
based her character "the Bolter" on Lady Idina in three of her books including ''
The Pursuit of Love
''The Pursuit of Love'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1945. It is the first in a trilogy about an upper-class English family in the interwar period focusing on the romantic life of Linda Radlett, as narrated by her cousin, Fa ...
'' and ''
Love in a Cold Climate
''Love in a Cold Climate'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1949. The title is a phrase from George Orwell's novel ''Keep the Aspidistra Flying'' (1936).
''Love in a Cold Climate'' is a companion volume to ''The Pursuit of Lov ...
''.
* ''
Vile Bodies
Vile may refer to:
Characters
* Vile (Mega Man X), a character from the Mega Man X game series
* Doctor Vile (Dr. Weil), a character from the Mega Man Zero game series
* V.I.L.E., a fictional villain group in the ''Carmen Sandiego'' franchise
...
'' by
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
is also based on Lady Idina's character and lifestyle.
* In the 1920s, the writer
Michael Arlen
Michael Arlen (16 November 1895 – 23 June 1956), born Dikran Kouyoumdjian ( hy, Տիգրան Գոյումճեան), was a British essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter of Armenians, Armenian origin, who had his ...
published ''The Green Hat,'' a novel whose heroine, Iris Storm, is based on Lady Idina Sackville. This book was turned into a movie, ''
A Woman of Affairs
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
'', starring
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
.
* Lady Idina's great-granddaughter through her eldest son David Wallace,
Frances Osborne, wrote a biography, ''The Bolter'', which was published in 2008 by Virago Press. The 2009 paperback edition has a revealing Afterword following a letter from Vincent Soltau's daughter, who with her brother was cared for by Lady Idina at her house 'Clouds' in Kenya for eight years.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sackville, Idina
1893 births
1955 deaths
Settlers of Kenya
Erroll
Daughters of British earls
British emigrants to Kenya
White Kenyan people