Kathleen Pelham Burn Moore, Countess of Drogheda (1887 – 18 March 1966) was a British socialite, aviator, and sportswoman. She was one of the "

bright young things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...

Biography

Pelham Burn was interested in various pursuits.

Turtle Bunbury James Bunbury (born 21 February 1972), known as Turtle Bunbury, is an Irish author, historian, and television presenter. He has published a number of books such as the ''Vanishing Ireland'' series, ''Easter Dawn -The 1916 Rising'', ''The Glori ...

describes her as "an enigmatic cigarette-smoking 20th century lady famous for dabbling in the occult". Born to a wealthy family (her mother's side from mining, her father's Scottish landowners), she had the ability to "pursue her manifold interests with great vigour" from her youth. She was particularly interested in flying; she became one of the first women to fly as a passenger in a plane. She later became known as "the Flying Countess" for her many passenger journeys and then for flying in aircraft exhibitions across the UK and Ireland to raise money for 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 ...

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 ...

. She had also worked for aviation charities during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and was a guest at

Edward Maitland Edward Maitland (27 October 18242 October 1897) was an English humanitarian writer and occultist. Life He was born at Ipswich on 27 October 1824, was the son of Charles David Maitland, perpetual curate of St. James's Chapel, Brighton; he was ...

's pre-flight celebrations of the

R34 R34 may refer to: * R34 (New York City Subway car) * R34 (South Africa) * HM Airship ''R.34'', a rigid airship of the Royal Air Force * , a destroyer of the Royal Navy * Nissan Skyline (R34), a mid-size car * Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34), a sports ca ...

successfully attempting the first return Atlantic crossing. Her other interests included driving fashionable cars around London and playing tennis at

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London, England, is a Gentlemen's club, private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon ...

(Wimbledon), being one of its first members. She competed in

The Championships, Wimbledon The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...

once, in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

, though she went out in the second round. She also played a lot of golf, and was a lover of contemporary art, but not music or literature. Bunbury notes that she held

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spe ...

s that were social events attended by celebrities of the day, including

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produc ...

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

, and

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''BLAST,'' the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His novels include ''Tarr'' ( ...

. In 1919 she was appointed Companion, Order of St. Michael and St. George. She was also a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

Personal life

Pelham Burn's first husband was the Anglo-Irish civil servant Henry Ponsonby Moore, 10th Earl of Drogheda. They wed on 3 March 1909 and divorced in 1922; Pelham Burn filed for divorce in 1921 on account of Henry's unfaithfulness. The marriage gave two children:

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(born 1910) and Patricia (born 1912), whom Pelham Burn was granted custody of in the divorce. The couple had been married in "a grand ceremony in St. Giles's Cathedral, Edinburgh" and lived in London at 40

Wilton Crescent Wilton Crescent is a street in central London, comprising a sweeping elegant terrace of Georgian houses and the private communal gardens that the semi-circle looks out upon. The houses were built in the early 19th century and are now Grade ...

; they also owned

Moore Abbey Moore Abbey () is a monastic house on the east bank of the River Barrow at Monasterevin in County Kildare, Ireland. History Moore Abbey was designed by the English engineer Christopher Myers in the Gothic style and was built in the late 176 ...

. Charles later said that his parents seemed to live separate lives and their divorce was not surprising. On 31 August 1922, Pelham Burn married Guillermo "Billy" de Landa y Escandon, a Mexican playboy and son of former

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Governor

Guillermo Landa y Escandón Guillermo Landa y Escandón (2 May 1842 - 1 March 1927) was a Mexican politician and businessman. He was governor of the Federal District of Mexico. He was one of the ''Científicos''. He studied at Stonyhurst College from 1858 to 1862. He is a ...

. They divorced in 1929. She is accounted by her son as being

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, as he wrote: "All her life she was attracted by men and women ..she knew intimately

Donald Campbell Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

Alan Cobham Sir Alan John Cobham, KBE, AFC (6 May 1894 – 21 October 1973) was an English aviation pioneer. Early life and family As a child he attended Wilson's School, then in Camberwell, London. The school relocated to the former site of Croydo ...

Kaye Don Kaye Ernest Donsky (10 April 1891 – 29 August 1981), better known by his ''nom de course'' Kaye Don, was an Irish world record breaking car and speedboat racer. He became a motorcycle dealer on his retirement from road racing and set up Amb ...

Jim Mollison James Allan Mollison Order of the British Empire, MBE (19 April 1905 – 30 October 1959) was a Scottish pioneer aviator who, flying solo or with his wife, Amy Johnson, set many records during the rapid development of aviation in the 1930 ...

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records duri ...

, and plenty of others besides." She may have also had an affair with Wyndham Lewis during her first marriage, whom she also commissioned for art against her husband's wishes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelham Burn, Kathleen, Drogheda, Countess of 1887 births 1966 deaths Aviation pioneers Bisexual women British women aviators British female tennis players British socialites Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

Scottish noblewomen