Nancy Brooker Spain (13 September 1917 – 21 March 1964) was a prominent English broadcaster and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

. She was a columnist for the '' Daily Express'', ''She'' magazine, and the '' News of the World'' in the 1950s and 1960s. She also appeared on many radio broadcasts, particularly on ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by ...

'' and ''

My Word! ''My Word!'' is a British radio quiz panel game broadcast by the BBC on the Home Service (1956–67) and Radio 4 (1967–88). It was created by Edward J. Mason and Tony Shryane, and featured the humorous writers Frank Muir and Denis Norde ...

'', and later as a panelist on the television programmes ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'' and ''

Juke Box Jury ''Juke Box Jury'' was a music panel show which ran on BBC Television between 1 June 1959 and 27 December 1967. The programme was based on the American show '' Jukebox Jury'', itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. The American serie ...

''. Spain died in a plane crash near Aintree racecourse while travelling to the

1964 Grand National The 1964 Grand National was the 118th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 21 March 1964. Thirty-three horses ran and the race was won narrowly by American-owned 12-year-old ...

Early life

Spain was born in

Jesmond Jesmond is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, situated to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher average house prices than most other areas of the city. H ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, the younger of the two daughters of

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

George Redesdale Brooker Spain, a freeman of the city and prominent figure in local military and antiquarian affairs. Her father was a writer himself and appeared in a number of radio plays as well as broadcasting commentaries on Newcastle United games. Her mother, Norah Smiles, was the daughter of Lucy Dorling (a half-sister of

Isabella Beeton Isabella Mary Beeton ( Mayson; 14 March 1836 – 6 February 1865), known as Mrs Beeton, was an English journalist, editor and writer. Her name is particularly associated with her first book, the 1861 work '' Mrs Beeton's Book of Household ...

) and William Holmes Smiles (son of Samuel Smiles).Rose Collis, 'Spain, Nancy Brooker (1917–1964)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 26 March 2013
/ref> As a child, Spain remembered pushing the future eminent journalist William Hardcastle into the Bull Park Lake on the Town Moor, where she used to learn to ride at five shillings an hour "with other little bourgeois tots". Spain went to

Roedean School Roedean School is an independent day and boarding school founded in 1885 in Roedean Village on the outskirts of Brighton, East Sussex, England, and governed by Royal Charter. It is for girls aged 11 to 18. The campus is situated near the Sus ...

(a family tradition) from 1931 to 1935, where she began wearing "mannish" clothes, and developed the speaking voice which stood her in such good stead in her eventual media career. She played

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

for

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

and

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, and

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

for the North of England, as well as playing tennis and cricket. She also acted on

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

, where she took over the star parts vacated by

Esther McCracken Esther McCracken (née Armstrong, 1902–1971) was a British actress and playwright. Biography She was born Esther Helen Armstrong in Newcastle upon Tyne on 25 June 1902 and was educated at the Central Newcastle High School, where she won the c ...

. She was a sports reporter for the '' Newcastle Journal'', and had a love affair with local sportswoman Winifrid Sargeant. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, Spain served in the WRNS on Tyneside, a period covered in her book ''Thank you, Nelson'' (1945). She served as a driver and was then commissioned, and worked in the WRNS press office in London.

Post-war career

After the war, Spain published several books, including a series of detective novels set at a girls school, Radcliff Hall, based on Roedean (the name a presumed allusion to

Radclyffe Hall Marguerite Antonia Radclyffe Hall (12 August 1880 – 7 October 1943) was an English poet and author, best known for the novel ''The Well of Loneliness'', a groundbreaking work in lesbian literature. In adulthood, Hall often went by the name Jo ...

, and probably also to Lord Berners' novel The Girls of Radcliff Hall). This helped her become a star columnist for the '' Daily Express'', ''She'' and the '' News of the World'' in the 1950s and 1960s, and made many radio broadcasts, particularly on ''

'' and ''

''. She later appeared as a panellist on BBC TV's record review programme ''

'' and the panel game ''

''. Her column-writing caused the '' Daily Express'' to be sued successfully for libel - twice - 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 '' Decl ...

. As well as Spain's books of memoirs, including ''Why I'm Not a Millionaire'' (1956), she wrote a biography of her great aunt,

(original author of the encyclopaedic ''

Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management ''Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management'', also published as ''Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book'', is an extensive guide to running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton and first published as a book in 1861. Previously p ...

''), and a series of detective novels. Rose Collis wrote a posthumous biography of the broadcaster and journalist in 1997.

Private life

Often in the news and tempted to marry to seem ''respectable'' - Spain's name was linked with that of

Gilbert Harding Gilbert Charles Harding (5 June 1907 – 16 November 1960) was a British journalist and radio and television personality. His many careers included schoolmaster, journalist, policeman, disc jockey, actor, interviewer and television presenter. He ...

- she lived openly with the editor of ''She'', Joan Werner Laurie (Jonny), and was a friend of the famous, including Noël Coward and

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. She and Laurie were regulars at the

Gateways club The Gateways club was a noted lesbian nightclub located at 239 King's Road on the corner of Bramerton Street, Chelsea, London, England. It was the longest-surviving such club in the world, open by 1931 and legally becoming a members club in 1 ...

in Chelsea, London, and were widely known to be lesbians. Spain and Laurie lived in an extended household with the rally driver

Sheila van Damm Sheila van Damm (17 January 1922 – 23 August 1987) was a British woman competitor in motor rallying in the 1950s, and also the former owner of the Windmill Theatre in London. She began her competitive driving career in 1950, and won the Coupe d ...

, and their sons Nicholas (born 1946) and Thomas (born in 1952). Nicholas was Laurie's son; Thomas was also described as Laurie's youngest son, but may have been Spain's son after an affair with Philip Youngman Carter, husband of

Margery Allingham Margery Louise Allingham (20 May 1904 – 30 June 1966) was an English novelist from the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", and considered one of its four "Queens of Crime", alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh. Alli ...

. Spain died, with Laurie and three others, on 21 March 1964. They were flying in a

Piper Apache The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the general-aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in small numbers. Origin ...

aeroplane which crashed near Aintree racecourse, near

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, killing all on board. The aircraft (''G-ASHC'') had taken off from Luton Airport and was on approach to land at the racecourse. Spain was travelling there to cover the

, which was taking place that day. She was cremated with Laurie at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

, London, and her ashes were put in the family grave in

Horsley, Northumberland Horsley is a small village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The village lies around from Newcastle upon Tyne and from Hexham. Nearby villages include Heddon-on-the-Wall, Ovingham, Ovington and Wylam. Demography The data below s ...

. Coward summed up in his diary: "It is cruel that all that gaiety, intelligence and vitality should be snuffed out when so many bores and horrors are left living." She is also the inspiration of the famous song 'Nancy Spain' written by Barney Rushe and made famous by, among others,

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

Bibliography

;Novels * ''Death Before Wicket'' (1946) * ''Poison in Play'' (1945) * ''Murder, Bless It'' (1948) * ''Death Goes on Skis'' (1949) * ''Poison for Teacher'' (1949) * ''Cinderella Goes to the Morgue (Minutes to Murder)'' (1950) * ''R in the Month'' (1950) * ''Not Wanted on Voyage'' (1951) * ''Out, Damned Tot'' (1952) * ''The Tiger Who Could't Eat Meat'' (1954) * ''The Kat Strikes'' (1955) * ''My Boy Mo'' (1959) * ''Minutes to Midnight'' (rpt 1978) ;Non-fiction * ''Thank You, Nelson'' (1945) * ''Mrs Beeton and Her Husband'' (1948) * ''Teach Tennant: The Story of Eleanor Tennant, the Greatest Tennis Coach in the World'' (1953) * ''The Beeton Story'' (1956) * ''Why I'm Not A Millionaire'' (1956) * ''The Nancy Spain Colour Cookery Book'' (1962) * ''The Beaver Annual'' (ed) (1962) * ''The Butlin Beaver Annual'' (ed) (1963) * ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way'' (1964) * ''The Nancy Spain All Colour Cookery Book'' (1967)

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spain, Nancy 1917 births 1964 deaths 20th-century English writers 20th-century women writers British radio personalities English lesbian writers British LGBT journalists British LGBT broadcasters People educated at Roedean School, East Sussex Writers from Newcastle upon Tyne Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in England Women's Royal Naval Service ratings Women's Royal Naval Service officers Royal Navy personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II Women mystery writers Daily Express people News of the World people 20th-century British journalists 20th-century LGBT people