Norah Royce Docker, Lady Docker (; 23 June 190611 December 1983) was an English socialite. A dance hostess at a club in her youth, she married three times, on each occasion to an executive of a business that sold
luxury good
In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in con ...
s.
Her third marriage, to
Sir Bernard Docker, the chairman of
Birmingham Small Arms Company
The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand tool, hand, po ...
(BSA) and its subsidiary,
Daimler, was notable for the couple's extravagant lifestyle. This was often funded by tax writeoffs and company expenditure that could not be legitimately defended, which led to Sir Bernard's removal from BSA's board of directors.
She was also banned from
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
by
Prince Rainier after an incident in which she tore up a
Monegasque flag.
Early life
She was born in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
in 1906 as Norah Royce Turner to Sydney and Amy Turner. She was the second eldest of four children: Bernice, her older sister by two years, Alma was six years younger, and brother Royce, the youngest. The Turners moved to
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, where her father bought into a car dealership. Her father committed suicide when she was 16, and she was the last to see her father alive.
As a young woman, she became a dance hostess at London’s
Cafe de Paris. She was courted by three men simultaneously, known as "The Judge, the Duke and the Frenchman" in her autobiography. 'The Judge' was
Cecil Whiteley
George Cecil Whiteley King's Counsel, KC Master of Arts, MA Doctor of Law#United Kingdom, DL Justice of the Peace, JP (1875–1942), was Common Serjeant of London from 1933 to 1942 and a Judge at the Mayor's and City of London Court.
Cecil White ...
and 'The Duke' was the
Ninth Duke of Marlborough. She had an affair with Clement Callingham and moved into his house while his divorce from his wife, Pamela, was being settled. Clement was a millionaire, the chairman of Henekeys whisky. Docker married Callingham at the Chelsea Registry Office as soon as his divorce became absolute.
Book
Her autobiography, ''Norah: The Autobiography of Lady Docker'', was ghostwritten and edited by Showbusiness columnist
Don Short. It is the only authorised book about Norah Docker. It was published by
WH Allen in 1969. The introduction reads: "At least I have not attempted to conceal anything from you and my conscience is calm, for I have told all with honesty. All I ask is that you judge me with the same honesty. And, finally, a word of apology to those thousands of people whose names I would like to have mentioned in this book: but just think of those thousands more who will feel greatly relieved when they find they have been left out..."
Marriages
She was married three times. The first, to chairman of Henekeys whisky company Clement Callingham from 1938 until his death in 1945, resulted in one son, Lance.
The second, in 1946, to Sir William Collins, the president of
Fortnum & Mason
Fortnum & Mason plc (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an Luxury goods, upmarket department store in London, England. The main store is located at 181 Piccadilly in the St James's area of London, where it was established in 1707 ...
, lasted until his death in 1948.
The third, in 1949, was to Sir
Bernard Docker, chairman of
Birmingham Small Arms Company
The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand tool, hand, po ...
(owner of
Daimler), and a director of the
Midland Bank
Midland Bank plc was one of the Big Four (banks)#United Kingdom, Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birming ...
,
Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company
The Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company (Spanish: ''Compañía de Tranvías Anglo Argentina''), known simply as ''La Anglo'' in Argentina, was a large transportation company which operated the majority of the trams in Buenos Aires, trams in the Bu ...
and
Thomas Cook and Son.
Public life
Lady Docker loved publicity. "My close friends in Fleet Street have told me that I have been good entertainment value for money, for their millions of readers over the years, and frankly I have never objected!"
In the summer of 1954, after a visit to Water Haigh colliery at Woodlesford near Leeds, Lady Docker invited several of the miners to a champagne party on the Dockers' yacht,
''Shemara'', at which she danced the
hornpipe
The hornpipe is any of several dance forms and their associated tunes, played and danced in Great Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England, with Hugh As ...
.
The image was used for the front cover of the Autobiography in 1969.
Lady Docker won a marbles championship in 1955 at
Castleford
Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...
's "Reight Neet Aht", a charity event for the
Cancer Relief Fund, while wearing a sequin dress and diamonds.
The match was rigged,
the other players having been instructed to let her win.
The next year, while in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Australia, to watch the
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...
, she challenged the suburb of
Collingwood to a marbles match.
In 1969, her memoirs, ''Norah: The Autobiography of Lady Docker'', ghostwritten and edited by
Don Short, were published by
W.H. Allen. One part reads: "I have planted my feet, delicately but boldly, on red carpets in the palaces and castles of some of the most sacred dynasties across the world. Sometimes I was also bowled straight back down those same carpets."
Jewel thefts
When the Dockers moved to Mayfair, there was a series of jewel thefts. To protect her maid Charlotte Reed, Norah converted the bidet in her bathroom into a stool in which to store her jewellery. After that, Norah discovered they had been robbed. The police were alerted, and became suspicious of Reed. They drove her away in a police car and dug up the garden in her sister's home in
Ruislip
Ruislip ( ) is a suburb in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London. Prior to 1965 it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London.
The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...
.
Docker Daimlers
In ‘Norah: The Autobiography of Lady Docker’, ‘The Golden Daimler’ is given its own chapter. ‘If I could find a single reason for my elevation to the dubious ranks of a celebrity, then I think, I would have a motor car to thank.’ She told her husband Sir Bernard Docker of her frustration that no one abroad had heard of Daimler cars. To boost the car’s popularity, she asked Bernard: “Why can’t you manufacture a smaller Daimler, suitable for the family?” Bernard invited her to join the company and to take on the project.
;1951 – The Gold Car (a.k.a. Golden Daimler)
''The Gold Car'' was a touring limousine on the
Thirty-Six Straight-Eight chassis.
The car was covered with 7,000 tiny gold stars, and all plating that would normally have been chrome was gold.
This car was taken to Paris, the United States and Australia.
The car was sold in 1959 for seven thousand, three hundred pounds, to an American motor-cycle distributor, William E. Johnson, Junior, of Pasadena. In her Autobiography, Norah says: ‘Unfortunately, the golden Daimler reached him stripped of its gold leaf - there was a Government order in force forbidding the export of gold. I can’t imagine they would have had much trouble in removing the gold. I found that I could scape it off with my fingernail, it was that thin.’
;1952 – Blue Clover
Also on the Thirty-Six Straight-Eight chassis, ''Blue Clover'' was a two-door sportsman's coupé
;1953 – Silver Flash
The ''Silver Flash'' was an aluminium-bodied coupé based on the 3-litre
Regency
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
chassis. Its accessories included solid silver hairbrushes and red fitted luggage made from crocodile skin.
The initial plans were for a two seater sports car, in a deep green with the interior trim scarlet crocodile. But Norah Docker was told it looked terrible. At the last minute, she instructed it to be resprayed in a metallic blue-grey. When asked for the name by a journalist, she went blank, before announcing it was called ‘Silver Flash.’
;1954 – Star Dust
based on the
DF400 chassis
Norah delivered it to the Hooper stand at Earls Court with silver stars embossed over the dark blue bodywork. It had chrome fittings with crocodile interior and silver brocade seating.
;1955 – Golden Zebra
The ''Golden Zebra'' was a two-door coupé based on the
DK400 chassis.
It was a cream and gold, fixed head sports car, with an ivory dashboard, cocktail cabinet, vanity box and built-in picnic basket. There was an ivory collapsible umbrella among the accessories. Lady Norah Docker’s initials were inscribed in gold letters on the door, and they had a gold replica of a zebra on the bonnet. The upholstery inside the car was real zebra-skin. ‘“Zebra?” questioned astonished reporters. “Yes,” I retorted. “It’s the best skin, because mink is too hot to sit on.” My answer was quoted all over the world, and it became the most famous of all my aphorisms.’
Alongside the show cars kept for her personal use, Lady Docker also owned other Daimler cars, including an unmodified
Conquest
Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...
drophead coupé.
The Shemara
The Shemara yacht is also given its own chapter in the Autobiography. ‘We were very proud of the Shemara’s service. We could comfortably accommodate twelve people in the four double, and four single, cabins.’ The crew would often buy Norah dolls to help with her collection, and fluffy animals. ‘They gave our lounge a lot of the colour that was missing,’ she explained in her Autobiography. The Shemara could take on supplies and stores for six months’ sailing. Norah offered to sell the Shemara to
Mr Onassis but he replied that he couldn’t think where to moor her. It was sold to a city property developer who offered £290,000. He claimed to have found defects aboard the Shemara which would cost £100,000 to put right. The Dockers contested it and the case went to High Court who ruled in the Dockers’ favour, saying they could only find one minor fault costing £100 to repair.
Separation from BSA
At the end of May 1956, Sir Bernard Docker was removed from the board of Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), where he had been chairman.
The issues leading to the removal of the Dockers stemmed from the extravagant expenses they presented to the company, including the show cars made available for Lady Docker's personal use, a £5,000 gold and mink ensemble that Lady Docker wore at the 1956
Paris Motor Show
The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...
that she tried to write off as a business expense as she "was only acting as a model" at the show,
and
Glandyfi Castle, bought with £12,500 of BSA's money and refurbished for £25,000, again with company money.
Lady Norah Docker shared the story in the chapter titled, ‘The B.S.A. Affair’ in the Autobiography: ‘Bernard sent out over ten thousand telegrams to share-holders, promising that they would know the full and honest facts behind his dismissal. Later, I despatched a letter, together with a photograph of myself (because I was foolish enough to believe people liked me!) to another seventeen thousand shareholders.’ The letter included Norah’s defence of her actions. ‘I have done all I can to help publicise the Company’s products, especially Daimler cars. There has been criticism of what I have done, but I would like the shareholders to know that I have received no financial benefit, in anyway whatsoever, for what I have done. I believe I did a very good job.’
Prince Rainier and Monte Carlo feud
In 1956, the Dockers were invited to the wedding of Prince Rainier and Princess
Grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...
. On the morning of the wedding, the Dockers left for the Cathedral in the Silver Stardust Daimler. But they were told to abandon the car and go to the Cathedral by bus. Norah refused and Bernard got one of the few taxis available to take them to the wedding. Norah reported on the wedding in the ''New York Herald Tribune'' and the ''London Sunday Graphic''. In her autobiography, she wrote, "I found it difficult to gloss over the truth. I condemned the commercialisation of the wedding and, in one article, I criticised Princess Grace, on a fashion count, for wearing a ridiculously-large brimmed hat on her arrival in Monaco."
She went to the Casino with Bernard and Lance instead. She saw the stage was empty and grabbed the microphone and said some unkind things about Prince Rainier and his former girlfriend,
Gisele Pascal. "Fortunately, the club was empty apart from Bernard and Lance, a couple of isolated customers and the odd waiter." The next day over lunch in the Hotel de Paris, Norah told Bernard she wanted to leave and go to
Cannes
Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
immediately. In the centre of their table, there was a crepe paper Monegasque flag and she tore it up. The following day, Norah learned she was banned from Monaco, and all the states along the French Riviera. Bernard, who had returned to London for a business meeting, went to rescue Norah but he was detained at Nice Airport on his arrival. He told officials that he was there to collect his wife and stepson, who then let him through.
Decline
Without their main source of income, the Dockers began to run out of money. In 1966, they sold their estate in Hampshire and moved to
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
in the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
, becoming tax exiles. In the Autobiography, Norah explained her isolation. 'Now we feel alone in this world, long since forgotten by those we helped, with only a handful of true and trusted friends remaining.' 'It is sad to say, after all that has happened, that the world has become a lonely place for us. Those who professed to be our friends, stayed only as long as the apple looked inviting. Then they disappeared.'
Death
Lady Docker died on 11 December 1983, aged 77, in the
Great Western Royal Hotel in London.
She is buried in the churchyard of St. James-the-Less in
Stubbings, near
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...
.
References
Sources
*
External links
* �
The Autobiography of Lady Docker�� published by WH Allen.
Lady Docker at the National Portrait GalleryLady Docker in Star Dust 1954The Golden Daimler 1951Silver Flash 1967re-sprayed Silver Flash 1974Star Dust 1954{{DEFAULTSORT:Docker, Norah
1906 births
1983 deaths
Daimler people
English socialites
People from Derby
Wives of knights