Kathleen Pelham Burn

Kathleen, Countess of Drogheda

Kathleen Pelham Burn Moore (1887 - 18 March 1966), Countess of Drogheda from March 1909 to May 1921, nicknamed The Flying Countess when she raised money during World War I with an air exhibition, was a prominent sportswoman and early female aviator.

Biography

Kathleen Pelham Burn was born in 1887, the daughter of Charles Maitland Pelham-Burn and Isabella Romanes Russel.[1]

On 3 March 1909 she married The Rt Hon. Henry Moore, 10th Earl of Drogheda (1884-1957), and her son was The 11th Earl of Drogheda (1910-1989). They had also a daughter, Lady Patricia Doreen Moore (1912-1947). They divorced on 29 May 1921. On 31 August 1922 she married Guillermo de Landa y Escandon, a rich South American polo player, and divorced on 16 April 1929.[2]

In 1918, the then Countess of Drogheda made a VIP cameo as herself in the American silent war drama movie The Great Love, directed and written by D.W. Griffith, starring George Fawcett and Lillian Gish. Set during World War I, exterior scenes were shot on location in England.[3]

In 1919 she was appointed Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G.).[1]

Kathleen Pelham Burn was famous for her interest in the occult. She hosted séances at her London townhouse and among the famous names attending the events were: Alice Keppel, mistress of King Edward VII, Baba, Baroness d'Erlanger, Dorothea Parry, wife of The 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, Jacob Epstein, Sir Ernest Cassel, Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis. There were rumours that the Countess of Drogheda had an affair with Wyndham Lewis.[4]

She was named "The Flying Countess"; during World War I she raised war funds with her aircraft exhibitions. Already a "prominent London sportswoman" (in 1914 she took part at the Tennis tournament in Wimbledon),[5] she was one of the first English women (with Lily Irvine Martin)[6] to approach aviation, seeing it as a new and fascinating "game." It has been said that she was closely associated with pioneer aviator Grahame-White.[7]

She died on 18 March 1966.

Legacy

The portrait of Kathleen, Countess of Drogheda by Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), painted in the middle of the 1940s, was sold at Christie's in 2011 for £385,250 (£430,869 in 2016 sterlings), originally estimated £200,000 - £300,000.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003
  2. ↑ Churchill, Randolph Spencer; Gilbert, Martin (1972). Winston S. Churchill: 1914-1916, the challenge of war. Companion. pt. 1. July 1914-April 1915. pt. 2. May 1915-December 1916. Heinemann. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "The Great Love (1918)". American Film Institute. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "HENRY MOORE, 10th EARL & THE SALE OF MOORE ABBEY". Turtle Bunbury. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Brookes, Dame Mabel Emmerton (1974). Memoirs. Macmillan. p. 101. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Think, Volumes 18-19. International Business Machines Corporation. 1952. p. 47. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. ↑ Planck, Charles E. (1942). Women with wings. Harper & brothers. p. 15. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980)". Christie's. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
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