Miss Gertrude Willoughby of Slough had already established herself as an important breeder (Fulmer prefix) before she married into a branch of the Beresford family and became Lady Decies (pronounced Dee-seez). Her married name became Maria Gertrude Horsley-Beresford.

In Peerage lists, the children of Sir John Pollard Willoughby and his second wife Maria Elizabeth Hawkes are listed as Maria Gertrude Willoughby (died 4 Apr 1939) and Mary Sophia Willoughby (died 6 Oct 1853) with no mention of his son John Christopher Willoughby (born 1859, died 1918). However John Christopher Willoughby was to play a major role in his sister s life later on. (For completeness of the record, J.P. Willoughby s first wife had died childless.) The family residence was Fulmer Hall, near Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, hence the Fulmer prefix used by his daughter.

Maria Gertrude Willoughby, 2nd daughter of Sir John Pollard Willoughby, 4th Baronet, married William Marcus de la Poer Horsley-Beresford, 4th Baron Decies (1865 1910) , son of William Robert John Horsley-Beresford, 3rd Baron Decies and Catherine Anne Dent, on 12 March 1901. It was to be a tragically short marriage and though she is usually reported as having no children, I found mention of a little son who died. As Lady Decies, she was the chief organizer of The Ladies Field Club, based in London. The committee was formed almost entirely of titled women, of whom Lady Decies was the moving spirit.

She had already established a significant cattery at Slough, and had given one of her kittens to the Queen: Her Majesty [. . .] was pleased to accept a blue Persian kitten (which she kissed) from Miss Gertrude Willoughby. (The Times, July 20th, 1899).

An early report of her cats, and general involvement with breeding and training animals, comes from The Queen, dated 2nd June 1900, in their report of the National Bazaar in Kensington: Live Stock at the National Bazaar. No more interesting section of a bazaar can be found than the one devoted to livestock of all kinds, the pity being animals take up so much room that but few can be accommodated, and those of the smaller and more portable varieties. This was the case at the National Bazaar held last week in the grounds and buildings of the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington, and owing to this lack of room sundry valuable offerings, including a couple of goats, a pony, a donkey or two, and a St Bernard dog had to be declined. The department had been suggested in the first instance by Miss Gertrude Willoughby and other prominent members of the National Cat Club. Then the president of the motion was the Duchess of Bedford, Miss Willoughby was the secretary, whilst as working vice-presidents there were Theresa Countess of Shrewsbury, Lady F. Gordon-Lennox, Viscountess Lady Julia Wombwell, Lady John Hay and the Hon. Mrs Harry Legge. All the animal., birds, and fowls were pinned by Spratt s, who not only did the whole of this work gratuitously, but sent one of their most trustworthy show officials to look after the stock and act as general assistant. The cats, which largely predominated, were well supplied with milk by the kindness of a Kensington dairyman; in fact, here, as in other parts of the bazaar, everyone who could render assistance even in a minor degree did so most willingly. During each day two handsome curly-coated poodles, Fulmer Nellie and Fulmer Via, owned and trained by Miss Willoughby, went through a clever performance, one playing the cymbals whilst the other skipped, and, as a small fee was charged to witness this interesting side show, a handsome sum was thereby realised. A chinchilla cat Fulmer Chang, a frequent winner at the leading shows, also appealed to the charitably disposed, and, on the opening day, when the tent was visited by the Princess of Wales , collected over 4 in aid of the fund, the appeal displayed on her pen being as follow : " Neither I nor my mistress are Irish or khaki colour, but we are deeply interested in the poor soldiers and sailors in Africa. Please give me something that I may add my mite to the fund." Few visitors failed to respond to the mute appeal . . . Mrs Inglefield (East Yorkshire Regt.) [sent] a very fine Persian cat, Mrs Balding several valuable kittens, whilst Miss Willoughby's personal gift to the stall included fan -tail pigeons, pedigree kittens, and Angora rabbits, all of which sold readily.. . . . In terminating a brief notice of one of the most interesting features of this great bazaar, mention may be made of those who readily assisted Miss Willoughby as salesmen and saleswomen. Among these were the Hon. Mrs Legge, Viscountess Coke, Lady John Hay, Miss Brenda Hay, Miss Dudley Ward, Lord Decies, the Rev. Read Davies, Capt du Maurier, Mr Powell Cotton, Mr Charles Dudley Ward, Mr Montague Elliott, Mr Robert Oppenheim, the Hon. Thos. Coke, and others.

Lord Decies is mentioned as one of those who assisted Miss Willoughby with the livestock at the bazaar. William Marcus de la Poer (Horsley-Beresford), Baron Decies was born in January 1865. He was a sporting man, kept racehorses, and was Master of the Thanet Harriers. He and three brothers had all served in the South African War (the fund that the National Bazaar supported). Catty society wondered whether Lord Decies would indulge or even share this passionate interest of hers after the couple had married on 12th Mar 1901. It seems their fears were unfounded as Lady Decies managed two catteries, one at her usual residence at Beresford Lodge, and the other, formerly her Slough cattery, at her summer residence at Birchington-on-Sea. In 1903 (Our Cats, December 19th) they could breathe a sigh of relief upon learning that Lord Decies also had a warm interest in his wife s hobby of cats. Newspaper reports after his death referred to him as being devoted to his wife.

Like many men of his class, he was a keen dog fancier and sportsman (huntsman). He was master of the harriers, and though greatly attached to his stables and kennels, he did not look upon the cat as an inferior animal. In fact he had bred cats himself for 15 years, and had a number of other small pets, ranging from cage-birds to a mongoose! However, the couple favoured cats and displayed their many trophies and painting around Beresford Lodge. In April 1905, The Inter-Ocean (a Chicago paper) reported "Lady Decies, the daughter of the late Sir John Willoughby, wose interests in animals is well known, has taken up the latest craze - pet mice - with considerable zest, and has some fine specimens of the crack breeds in her 'mousery'."

The Leavenworth Times of October 8th, 1902 provides more information on Lord and Lady Decies' animals: "DEVOTED TO ANIMAL PETS. English Woman of Title Cares for Cats, Dogs and Bullfinches. Lady Decies, one of England s most popular women of rank, who only last year became a bride, is a noted cat fancier. She is an energetic lady, who does nothing by halves, and her Chinchilla and Siamese pets are housed and taken care of in the most luxurious way. The catteries at Beresford lodge, Birchington, Lord and Lady Decies seaside place, are novel features, which were designed by Lady Decies herself, who has a large share of the inventive and creative faculty, in which the average woman is supposed to be so deficient. Each room hae a fireplace and cork carpet and ladders by which the fortunate animals mount to their beds. Their toilets and menus are attended to by domestics specially told off for that purpose. Lady Decies, who is a sister of Sir John Willoughby, has a clever performing dog, and she also possesses a large aviary, where some bullfinches have been taught to perform a number of tricks. As a debutante Lady Decies distinguished herself by making some ingenious toys and puzzles, which had a great success and brought her in a good deal of pin money. Now she devotes herself to an outdoor life and the care of her small menagerie, and is only seen in London occasionally, though she finds time to carry out much unobtrusive philanthropy."

LADY DECIES' CATS - The Saint Paul Globe, May 26, 1903: Lucky is the cat who falls into the hands of Lady Decies, considered by many to be the most successful exhibitor of long haired cats in England. Lady Decies has built a six-room cottage adjoining Beresford Lodge, her house, and here most of her cat colony is housed in winter, while there are outbuildings, with large runs attached, for the others. Each cat sleeps alone, and her sleeping apartment is a box, to insure safety against draughts. In winter the bedding is straw; in summer a piece of carpet. The cats have an attendant of their own, and she has a lad to assist her. There is a good deal of grooming and titivating to be done for the cats, for, although there are only about fourteen of them, each little person must be well combed each morning, while its nose and eyes are well sponged with warm water, or, frequently, with boracic acid. For fear of fading their coats, none of the cats are allowed out in the sun in hot weather. They are either shut up in the house or let loose in one of the shaded runs, the roof of which is painted green, to throw a cool light. For wet weather there is a large conservatory, which is used as an exercise ground. Some people would say that is was wicked to lavish so much care on a parcel of cats, where so many Christians are neglected. But, of course, any cat lover would retort that a nice cat is a Christian. At all events, the cats, dogs and parrots at Beresford Lodge are the best of friends, and the parrots would be pleased to let the cats share their cages if the cats cared to do so.

Various, November 1907: Lady Decies has a cat which always rushes to the dining room directly the gong sounds. If by chance it fails to arrive before the door is closed it seizes the rug outside, which is kept down by a weight, and executes a very creditable double knock by lifting the edge with its teeth and allowing the weighted end to drop on the ground.

The Sphere, 17th April, 1909 LADY DECIES Owner of many prize-winning cats and Pekinese spaniels [ . . .] among other enthusiasts is Lady Decies, who in her beautiful home, Sefton Park, near Slough, has several fine specimens. She has also extensive catteries, though nothing like so large as when she lived at her Birchington bungalow, where amongst her treasured cats was one valued at 1,000 and which had taken every possible prize at the leading cat shows.

A Lady Cat Fancier (Western Evening Herald, 21st October 1909) - Lady Decies, who has been issuing an appeal for First Aid for Cats, does so with authority, for there is not greater cat-fancier or more successful cat breeder than this lady, who has taken six prizes at the National Cat Club Show, and whose short-haired Love-in-the-Mist connoisseurs have pronounced to be the most beautiful cat that has ever existed on earth.

Lady Decies and Her Cats (The Queen, 25 December 1909) - There is probably no name more familiar to cat fanciers than that of Lady Decies (Maria Gertrude, the younger daughter of the late Sir John Pollard, Willoughby Bart.). She exhibited a good many years before her marriage in 1901, and calls her cats the Fulmer strain. She has had a great deal to do with the establishment of several prominent cat shows, and also exhibits dogs, being one of the oldest members of the Pekingese Club. Her kennels at Sefton Park, Slough, contain some handsome Pekingese, all fit to win at the largest championship shows, and during the last four years Lady Decies has secured many a brilliant victory. It will thus be seen that she is as successful in the dog as in the cat world, and many a time these columns have recorded the victorious career of her feline pets. Lord Decies, too, is well known in the Bedlington terrier world, and from 1900 to 1905 was Master of the Thanet Harriers, while it may be added that in 1904 he became a member of the Kennel Club and Lady Decies of the Ladies' Branch. As is mentioned in another column Lady Decies was a prominent exhibitor at the Crystal Palace shows.

An interesting chapter in the couple s life occurred on July 2nd, 1910, before Mr Justice and a Special Jury of the King s Bench Division. The case is recorded as 'Lyons v. "The Financial News (limited)" and Others' and involved an allegation of libel. Mr. Maurice Barnett held a watching brief on behalf of Lord Decies, whose property, Beresford Lodge, was at the centre of the case. The action had been brought by a Mr Lyons (plaintiff) to recover damages for libel from the proprietors and printers of the The Financial News. Lyons, had arranged to buy Beresford Lodge, Birchington-on-Sea from Lord Decies. Lyons proposed to float a company on the Stock Exchange and to sell the property to this company at a considerable profit; the company would convert Beresford Lodge into a hotel, with Lyons as managing director on a salary of 600 a year. Lyons issued a prospectus for the proposed company, but the Financial News published two articles that criticized his estimated profits, and warned the public to have nothing to do with the scheme. The articles criticised the prospectus of Lyons company known as the Cliff Palace Hotel (Limited). As a result, Lyons failed to attract investors and had lost the expected profits (the material damages required for a libel case), while the Financial News claimed the articles to be truthful and fair comment on a matter of public interest.

Birchington was not on the motorists road to anywhere and existing hotels in the area already did very badly. Lyons had a good knowledge of catering, but hoped to make more money by promoting a company. In a previous scheme, Lyons had failed to find partners for a Limited Company, so he created the Premier Catering Syndicate. Using his own name, Lyons, he allowed people to think he was connected to the well-respected company, Messrs. Lyons. The shareholders lost their money and the syndicate s creditors were never paid. Lyons had wasted 17,000 of the public money in his Premier Catering Syndicate. The Financial News considered it their duty to warn the public of Lyons previous schemes and dishonesty.

Lyons had acquired a lease with an option of purchase of Beresford Lodge at Birchington-on-Sea from Lord Decies. The fact that 10,000 out of the 12,000 purchase money was to be allowed to remain on mortgage showed just how anxious Lord Decies was to get rid of Beresford Lodge, and how impossible it had been to obtain its suggested value. A Mr. Cousins, deceased at the date of the case, had valued the property at 20,000, but there was doubt as to his credentials, especially as Lyons seemed to be looking for a dodgy valuer who would to over-value the property! Evidence was given by an estate agent that Beresford Lodge was only worth 12,000. Leaving aside the libel case, this meant that Lord Decies hadn t been able to sell Beresford Lodge and was probably under a lot of stress which may have contributed to his sudden death a few weeks later.

Lord Decies died, aged 45, suddenly, at the Cottage Hospital, Hornsey, having been overcome by the heat (also described as an "apoplectic stroke") when attending the Races at Alexandra Park that same day (30th July, 1910) and was buried Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire. He left 97,484 (gross; 82,499 net) and was succeeded in his title by his brother John Graham Hope de la Poer Beresford (who had married the American Helen Vivien Gould) which means that the couple had no living children. Probate was granted to Sir John C Willoughy (Gertrude s brother). The 5th Baron Decies inherited Beresford Lodge, Birchington-on-Sea and in 1915 allowed it to be used as a convalescent home for officers. It was 3 miles outside of Margate and had its own private stairs to the sands. All that remains today is Beresford Gap, a slipway. Beresford Lodge became a hotel in the 1920s and survived in that form into the early 1970s. In 1975, the hotel was demolished and the site cleared to make way for housing.

Lady Decies' brother, Major Sir John Christopher Willoughby (born 1859), served in Royal Horse Guards. He was known for his interest in sports such as big game hunting in Africa, horse-racing and gambling and had been caricatured in Vanity Fair. He had paid the incredible sum of 8,600 guineas for the race-horse Harvester which dead-heated the 1883 Derby. It later turns out that he was relying on hand-outs from his sister who depleted her estate, and then took out loans, to pay off her brother s debts. In 1896, her brother appeared before the Queen s Bench for an offence under the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 (Queen's Bench: R v Leander Starr Jameson, Sir John Christopher Willoughby Baronet, Henry Frederick White, Raleigh Grey and Charles John Coventry; preparation of a military expedition to South African Republic). Willoughby was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, but was subsequently released and headed back to the Cape by steamer.

Her relationship to the famous Sir John was mentioned in the press at the time: The National Cat Show, which recently closed at the Crystal palace, has been an event of interest to the women in London society. Miss Gertrude Willoughby took no fewer than ten first prizes. Miss Willoughby, who is the sister of the Sir John Willoughby who was connected with the famous raid, makes a hobby of her cats. Her "catteries" at Fulmer are models of their kind." In addition to cats, she was a very keen sportswoman, and was among the number of women who ran their own horses.

War Time

The Pantagraph of August 3rd, 1914 reprinted this piece from the Woman s National Weekly: Trade has lost its stigma in England since land taxes and death dues bore down on the H upper classes. Society women keep shops nowadays almost as a matter of course. All the world says [. . .] that Gertrude Lady Decies (mother-in-law [sic] of George Gould s daughter) is marketing her patented remedy No Germo, a preventive of influenza. (she was sister-in-law, of course) On the morning of December 4th, 1914, London suffered one of its pea-souper fogs that caused traffic chaos and the Associate Press reported Gertrude Lady Decies, widow of the fourth baron and sister-in-law of Vivien Lady Decies, nee Gould, was badly injured in a collision involving four busses and her taxicab near the Crystal palace. She was taken to a hospital with a bad wound in the face.

During the Great War, many anestral homes opened as hospitals for soldiers that were invalided home. Lady Decies did her bit, both at home and overseas. In May 1916, many papers reported that Gertrude Lady Decies did frequent duty as a kitchenmaid in cap and apron at the Alexandra hospital for officers, but we get a more detailed picture of her work from an article entitled An American Girl s Picture Of War Horrors, which contained an account told by her to her sister-in-law, the former Vivien Gould and current Lady Decies. It appeared in The Saturday Evening Post (22nd May, 1915): That night in my hotel after dinner, Gertrude, Lady Decies, told [Vivien] the following story: I Had only twelve hours notice to start for the front. I am not a hospital nurse, but I have taken for several years three months each summer of special training. So I felt that I would be useful if I could get over. It was November and very cold. When I got to Calais there was not a room to be had anywhere. But at the Hotel Central they told me I might have a bathroom to sleep in. At the last moment a gentleman volunteered to exchange with me. But the next day he left, so that night I slept in a bathtub with a mattress in it!

An injury, to which Lady Gertrude Decies made only passing reference in her letters home, was dismissed by her as a mere scratch on the arm . It happened at the beginning of December 1914 and by December 10 she had already returned to her hospital duties, this time near Boulogne.

Our progress on the journey was terribly slow, the train crawled and, although we left Boulogne shortly after twelve, we did not arrive at our hotel in Paris until long after ten. The station looked deserted and dreary, few porters were to be seen, and none yielded to our blandishments, so that at last resourceful Gertrude, Lady Decies, finding an empty trolley, wheeled it up to our carriage, and we prepared to load it ourselves. (Notes of a Nomad, by Lady Jephson in the section War Time Journal Germany. 1914 ). And more from another source: "The Transport hospital, which used to be at the main station, in Dunkirk itself, but which has now been done away with, was under the charge of Gertrude, Lady Decies. Sometimes they had as many as two thousand men in a night, all sorts, French, Belgians, Turcos and a small sprinkling of Tommies." (France In War Time 1914-1915 by Maud Fortescue Sutton-Pickhard). And more: "Gertrude, Lady Decies has turned up here, and works at the station with us. She is rather a ludicrous spectacle, but is frightfully kind." (A World War I Journal, Rosabelle Brand's Diary, October November 1914, entry for November 6th)

She took part in the Roumanian retreat, was wounded by shrapnel and blown up by a shell. Later on she had terrible experiences in Russia under the Bolshevist regime.

During 1916 she continued her wartime fundraising efforts, although the administration was carried out by others while Lady Decies was on the continent. According to The Tatler (23rd August 1916) Gertrude Lady Decies has just added a cat section" to her "Four-footed Forces," and any members owning cats can obtain full particulars, with collecting cards, from the honorary secretary, Mrs. Carew-Cox, 71, Clyde Road, East Croydon. The dogs have already collected nearly 500 in six months, and it is hoped the cats will do equally well.

Upon her return from the continent, she spent some time recuperating at the Cavell Home at Westcliff-on-Sea (now part of Southend-on-Sea). This letter, written from there, appeared in The Spectator, 31 March 1917, Page 12: [To The Editor] Sir - May I, through the medium of your most valuable paper, appeal for the Cavell Memorial Holiday Home at Westcliff-on-Sea? The Home has existed for nine years for working gentle-women, but in December, 1915, it was renamed in honour of Edith Cavell, and specially helps our splendid body of nurses to take a well-earned rest by the sea. The Home is always full, but the fees paid by the visitors are so small that the Home is obliged to rely upon the generosity of the public for its maintenance. Subscriptions and donations are very urgently needed, and may be sent to the Secretary at the Home, or the bankers, Messrs. Barclay and Co., 1 Pall Mall East, London, S.W. I am, Sir, &c., M Gertrude Decies, First Avenue, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.

According to The Tatler (20th February, 1918) Gertrude Lady Decies is once more in England for a short spell of much-needed rest. Ever since the outbreak of war this noble woman has worked in the forefront of the battle, and only her most intimate friends know the terrible hardships and privations she has undergone, for Sister Mollie, as she prefers to be known, is one of those who work silently and unselfishly, without any thought of fame or reward. The [Ladies Kennel Association] does, indeed, feel proud of owning her as a member, and offers her a hearty welcome back to Blighty. And the 10th July 1918 issue of the same periodical tells us "Gertrude Lady Decies is numbered amongst those who 'are never wearied in well doing.' Only recently' she was obliged to return from her strenuous hospital labours in Serbia as her medical advisers said a complete rest was absolutely necessary for her; but no sooner had she settled in England than she set in motion a scheme which she had formulated for the benefit of disabled soldiers in the first place and secondarily for the increase of the food supply. Depots are to be started in London and other places, where all instructions on the rearing, food, etc., of pedigree rabbits will be given, showing how these may be kept at a profit in towns as well as in the country. The first of these depots, The Hutch, 57, Lower Belgrave Street, is managed by Lady Decies and her sister, Miss Willoughby, and was opened on June 4."

The Milwaukee Journal, September 19, 1920 tells us another of her wartime initiatives. Early in the war, Lady Decies decided that prize dogs should become war workers. She therefore enrolled canine recruits for her collecting corps on behalf of the British Red Cross society. She conscripted her own prize Pekingese and such aristocrats as Lady Londonderry's bloodhounds and the Duchess of Newcastle s fox terriers. This specially conscripted "army" was not as successful as her optimistic ideas had hoped. Despite being generous and good-hearted, the initiative was probably seen as posh ladies playing at fundraising. The Windsor Magazine (1916) describes the canine army thus Gertrude Lady Decies enrolled quite a canine army on behalf of the Westminster section of the Red Cross. The headquarters of this movement was the Ladies Kennel Association. Each recruit was, of course, a private to begin with, but multiples of five pounds brought him promotion. Thus the first live pounds makes the dog-collector a corporal, and the second a sergeant. The attainment, of twenty pounds confers on him officer rank and a decoration. Members of the pioneer battalion, with really remarkable collecting cards, include Lady Decies own Pekingese, the Duchess of Newcastle s terriers, and those bloodhounds for which the Marchioness of Londonderry's kennels are so well known.

I found two other mentions. One in The Cambrian Daily Leader, 3rd March 1916, War work for dogs on novel lines has been initiated by Gertrude lady Decies, who is now enrolling canine recruits to a collecting corps on behalf of the Westminster division of the British Red Cross Society. Each collecting dog joins Lady Decies s battalion the headquarters of which is at the offices of the Ladies Kennel Association as a private [. . .] collecting of 20 carries with it the rank of full lieutenant and a gold medal. The other was in The Tatler, Sporting and Country House Supplement, Ladies Kennel Association Notes (August 1916): Gertrude, Lady Decies has just added a cat section to her Four-footed Forces, and any members owning cats can obtain full particulars, with collecting cards, from the honorary secretary, Mrs. Carew Cox, 71 Clyde Road, East Croydon. The dogs have already collected nearly 500 in six months, and it is hoped the cats will do equally well.

The Sketch, 23rd February, 1916, details some of her war work: Gertrude Lady Decies has taken to heart the case of the wounded in East Africa, and is throwing over many smaller interests in order to be free to give herself for their service. She is selling of her Pekingese; the cats are, so to speak, going to the dogs; and her horses, even, are to be banished from her thoughts for the time being. It was she who appealed a few years ago, for First Aid for Cats, took six prizes at a single National Cat Club Show, and was always busy with her animals and collections with bullfinches, chow-chows, her husband s orchids, blue-and-white china, her golf-sticks or with the puzzles that she had a very pretty knack of inventing. And when she was not busy with one or the other of these things, she had her race-card. Gertrude Lady Decies has stood in other words for a type of woman who had a thousand-and-one things to do, some considerable, some inconsiderable, but none of them, according to our new standards, of the first importance. She had no children. Now she has her wounded. Her practical knowledge of the world in detail will stand her, and them, in good stead. She has been full of war-work of other sorts, but her African enterprise is the real, big thing. It reminds one irresistibly of that tale of transformations in the breast of a Grosvenor Square lady, Aunt Sarah and the War.

In June 1915, The Washington Times tried to explain to its readers the difference between the two Lady Decies (the eldest Lady Decies had died a few years earlier) Lady Decies, Vivien Gould that was, stamped her foot very emphatically the other morning and said she would not be associated with cats in any circumstances. Now the fact is since the arrival of the little heir she has been very much to the fore in the society papers, the writers in some of which [. . .] have been mixing up the present Lady Decies with the wife of the late peer, Gertrude Lady Decies, who is a tremendous cat fancier. The new American peeress [. . .] dislikes cats almost as much as the late Lord Roberts himself, and hence her rage at having been described as a cat fancier.

The Hotel

In latter years the feminine section of the nobility have often indicated an inclination to take to business. Now Gertrude Lady Decies, daughter of the late Sir John Willoughby and widow of the fourth Lord Decies is about to start a golf hotel. She will convert her house, Scots wood, near scot, into such an establishment, and will manage it herself on the lines of a continental hotel. It will be called the Scotswood Golf Hotel, is near to the Sunningdale and other courses, and will be opened before these lines are in print. Within the 40 acres of ground will be a clock golf course and tennis and croquet courts. Lady Decies has many occupations and interests. Her breeds of cats and Pekingese dogs are famous. She invented an antiseptic lotion and ointment which she used in severe cases of frostbite when she was nursing in France in the early stages of the war. - The American Golfer, Foreign Notes, August 1919

In August 1919, many newspapers carried this report on her hotel venture: Lady Decies Opens Hotel Without Drink Provision. ASCOT, Eng., - Prohibition added a temporary recruit to its ranks here when Lady Gertrude Decies, widow of the late Baron, embarked in the hotel business with a dry bar. The hotel was formerly the country residence of the Decies and will be known as The Scotswood Golf hotel. Guests will be welcomed at a daily price of $5 per head, but with the understanding no liquor will be served. In its place the perspiring golfer or race goers can have lemon pop, ginger ale, ice cream, milk and many other soft concoctions. There are however, several oasis. Not far from the hotel is the aristocratic and fashionable Swinley Forest club, where those fortunate enough to have a friend for a member, may get hard liquor. Local pubs are looking forward to ja landoffice business. But it is not because Lady Decies is a prohibitionist that she is running a temperance hotel. Licenses are hard things to get these days and it won t be until next February that one will be available. It is expected then that one will be available. It is expected then that one will be sought unless the Prohibitionists can persuade the aristocratic proprietress to a permanent dryness.

Washington Post, August 15, 1919: Decies Home Now a Hotel. Differing from most of the peers and peeresses of the British realm, who are engaged in selling their ancestral estates and their homes to the highest bidder with a view to escaping the additional taxation on real estate, rendered necessary by the war, Gertrude Lady Decies, widow of the fourth Lord Decles, has turned Scotswood, her country seat at Sunningdale, near Ascot, into a residential hotel, and, opened on the first day of this month, it is already in running order, under her personal direction and management, with a full complement of guests . Within easy motoring distance of London, of Windsor and of the Ascot, Hurst Park and Kempton race courses, standing in about 100 acres of park and garden, it ought to prove a decided success. She has retained for her hotel the former name of her home - that is to say, Scotswood - and she is running it on the lines of a first-class continental hostelry, managing by dint of tact and cleverness, to keep away the vulgar, noisy, new rich element, who through their entire absence of consideration for others do so much to poison life nowadays. This was one of her big mistakes. The new rich may have been brash and lacking in class, but they were now the ones who had the money. The Washington Times on August 1, 1919 quoted her as saying This idea is partly a patriotic effort to assist in solving the housing problem. I have an excellent chef and a good manageress, but I ll supervise everything myself. The price was reported to be what wealthy Americans were prepared to pay.

On November 20, 1919, The [London] Times reported that Lady Decies was fined for giving rice to her dogs. As part of the war effort, food fit for human consumption wasn t allowed to be fed to animals. At Ascot Police Court yesterday, Gertrude Lady Decies was charge under the Cereals Order with using rice as food for dogs. She was ordered to pay a fine of 2 and costs. Police-inspector Simmonds said that on October 8 he went to Scotswood, Sunningdale, and he saw two dogs in a kennel eating rice pudding from a plate. A person standing near was holding a tray on which there were seven other plates of rice pudding. He did not see Gertrude Lady Decies at that time, but a few days later, when he called again, her ladyship told him that as soon as she knew it was wrong she stopped feeding the dogs with rice. She also said that a mistake had been made, as she had ordered chicken rice for the dogs, but best rice had been forwarded instead. It was also stated that Gertrude Lady Decies kept 14 dogs. In defence it was submitted that the defendant was ignorant of the Order.

A description of her character, connections and interests was given in The Washington Post, August 15th, 1919: "Lady Decies Noted for Tact. Gertrude Lady Decies is an extremely clever broad-shouldered, slim-waisted little woman, only sister of the late Sir John Willoughby, renowned in his day as the smallest officer and as the finest boxer in the British army, in which he held a commission of captain of the Royal Horse Guards until his love of adventure led him to participate In the Transvaal raid. She has, like her kinswoman, Lady Marcus Beresford, specialized in tact, and has won for the catteries, which she formerly maintained at Beresford Lodge, Birchington, a seaside resort in Kent, something akin to European fame in connection with her success in breeding prize winners at the various national and international cat shows. She has also gone in for raising Pekingese, and has done a considerable amount of racing, her registered colors being white and primrose. Lady Decies has likewise been a bird fancier, and seems to have a marvelous influence over these feathered creatures, which she is able to teach all sorts of tricks.

Of a very inventive and ingenious turn of mind, and with a pronounced taste for mechanics, she has invented all sorts of toy games and puzzles, which, taken up by the trade, have brought her a considerable amount of money. Then, too, she has studied chemistry, has maintained a laboratory at Scotswood, and has discovered several patent remedies of an antiseptic character, against bites of flies and mosquitoes. - Marquise de Fontenoy.

The same author expanded on that report in The Washington Post, August 23rd, 1920: Women's Hotel Venture Costly. If Gertrude Lady Decies, widow of the fourth Lord Decies and sister-in-law of the present peer and of his American wife, eldest daughter of George Gould, has been gazetted in London as a bankrupt, it is as the result of her venture in hotel keeping. Less fortunate than Lady Honywood, who, beginning in a very small way, now owns and managed with rare success a whole string of so-called family hotels in London and in the provinces, Lady Decies, fired by her example to embark in a similar enterprise, has come to grief.

She retained for her hotel its former name - that is to say, Scotswood. She ran it on the lines of a first-class continental hostelry and devoted all her tact and savoir faire to keeping away the vulgar, noisy and new rich element, who in Europe, as in America, do so much to poison life nowadays through their entire absence of consideration for others. Unfortunately it is the new rich nowadays who have the money, and while Lady Decies rendered her hotel very popular among those of relatively moderate means, she failed to make it pay, and it has come to grief. Her bankruptcy, however, will prove a blessing in disguise, for it will relieve her to a great extent of her recent worries and embarrassments and will enable her to return to those means of livelihood in which she formerly made quite a hit. Like her kinswoman. Lady Marcus Beresford, she, even during the lifetime of her husband, specialized in cats [etc]

The Washington Times, July 19, 1920: Gertrude Lady Decies is operating the Hutch in lower Belgrade street for the sale of well-bred rabbits. She advocates rabbit growing to help out the meat shortage. She has been operating her town houses for some time as hotels, while her beautiful country residence, Scotswood House, has been turned into Scotswood Golf Hotel. These ventures are run on business lines. The Milwaukee Journal, September 19, 1920 gives us a bit more information [After her canine collecting corp was unsuccessful] she started a shop called The Hutch in lower Belgrave- st. where she sold rabbits in order to popularize rabbit-breeding as a means of increasing the country s food supply. She also declared that through this means she intended to deprive Germany of a profitable industry, but alas! Lady Decies bunny boom ' went the same way as her conscript army of dogs. She lives over that shop which she called "The Hutch" In lower Belgrave-st,and I am told that there has recently been a good deal of trouble concerning the number of animals she keeps on the premises.

During the early 1920s she became a special correspondent to The Washington Post (who syndicated her work to other papers) and wrote regular articles on English high society, society events and what the fashionable were wearing. Knowing her audience, she frequently mentioned American and Anglo-American society. The Washington Post of 26 September, 1920 gives a detailed account of her bankruptcy a decade after her husband s death:

BARONESS FAILS WITH HER HOTEL. Lady Decies Admits She Is Bankrupt When Hostelry for Golfers Is Not a Success.

Her talents are many, her energy and resourcefulness boundless. Before her marriage she had invented games and puzzles that proved both clever and profitable. A few years ago she devised a new remedy called "No Germo, which was designed as a preventive against the bites of flies and mosquitoes and also as a safeguard against influenza. It is, however, as an animal lover and breeder that Lady Decies is best known. She has run the gamut of horses to rabbits, taking in cats, poodles, pekingeses and even bullfinches on the way, and a pretty penny they must have cost her, from first to last. She was long in the first rank of cat fanciers, and one of the most active members of the National Cat Club committee. Her aristocratic pussies were almost invariably prize winners.

These are some of the notices that were published in the USA as a result of her bankruptcy: "Gertrude Lady Decies, recently declared a bankrupt in England, is a sister-in-law of the present Baroness Decies, formerly Vivian Gould, of New York, Lady Decies spent a fortune on pets which us said to account for her present financial difficulties." (November, 1920) and "British Peeress In Bankrupt Suit. Sister-in-Law of Gould's Daughter on Financial Rocks. LONDON, Aug. 14. A receiving order in bankruptcy has been made in court angainst Lady Mary Gertrude Decies, widow of the fourth Baron Decies and sister-in-law of the present peer, whose wife was Vivien Gould, of New York. She was the daughter of Sir John Pollard Willoughby and married the late Baron Decies in 1901. He died nine years later."

The same report (with minor additions) appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, October 3rd, 1920, accompanied by a photo of Lady Decies. The [London] Times of March 17, 1921 tells us "A sitting had been appointed to be held in the Bankruptcy Court yesterday for the public examination of Maria Gertrude Lady Decies, who was adjudged bankrupt on August 18. A statement of her affairs showed gross liabilities of 56,280, expected to rank for 26,650, against assets valued at 3,648. Mr. E Parke, Assistant Official Receiver, said that he had received a medical certificate that the debtor was too ill to be present. He understood that the trustee in bankruptcy had begun an action against moneylenders, in which be expected to recover a large sum, so that in any caae it was undesirable that the examination should proceed. The sitting was adjourned to June 22."

The sitting took place and was reported in The Times of August 24th, 1920: "The Affairs of Gertrude, Lady Decies. Rabbit Rearing and a Golf Hotel. The first meeting of creditors was held yesterday at Bankruptcy-buildings under a receiving order made on August 9 against Maria Gertrude Lady Decies, of Lower Belgrave-street, W.. The order was obtained on the petition of a West-end moneylender. Mr. E. Parke, Assistant Official Receiver, who presided, said that the debtor had attended for preliminary examination, and had stated that when her husband died in July, 1010, she inherited his property, worth about 85,000. In 1911 she bought for 8,500 a house and an estate at Sunningdale known as Scotswood, on which she spent nearly 16,000. When war broke out she volunteered to serve as a nurse, and afterwards went to France. She returned wounded in May, 1915, and after she recovered she served in a military hospital in England until May, 1917, when she went as a nurse to Russia and Rumania. In January, 1918, she and her sister took an empty shop at 37, Lower Belgrave-street, and started a rabbit-rearing business under the style of "The Hutch." Their idea was to provide food and fur and to capture the German trade, but the business was unsuccessful and was closed in July, 1919. In that month she converted her private home at Sunningdaie into an hotel under the name of the Scotswood Golf Hotel. She contended that this venture would have succeeded, but in July last the mortgagees appointed a receiver, who sold the property.

Mr. Coote (H. S. J. Woodhouse and Co.), for the debtor, said that his client s financial troubles arose from the fact that Sir John Willoughby died hopelessly insolvent in answer to the Assistant Official Receiver, he said that the debtor s claim against Sir John Willoughby s estate might realize something like 4 and a half pence in the pound. The debtor had been adjudged bankrupt, and the creditors appointed Mr. David Hart, accountant, as trustee of the estate.

On 19th February 1924, the Associated Press gives us details of another of her trades: Dogs Need Dresses Declares lady Gertrude. Knitted jumpers for dogs - "to keep them warm when motoring, she said - were sold by Gertrude Lady Decies, at the winter show o the Pekingese Club, at Tattersall s. The tiny jumpers, knitted by Lady Decies herself, in wools and silks of various colors, were designed by her to take the place of the old dog s coat, which was usually. a plain square piece of material wrapped around the animal s body- The new-fashioned jumper is properly shaped with leg holes, and draws up around the neck. Unfortunately she was producing luxury items aimed at an aristocratic set that was also impoverished.

The Village Shop

Then in the Bridgeport Telegram of October 14th, 1924 comes this: "Lady Decies, Once Wealthy, Reduced to Earning Living. London, Oct 13 [1924] - Lady Maria Gertrude Decies, widow of the fouith Baron Decies and sister-in-law o the present Baron, who married Helen Vivian Gould, is said by the Daily Mirror to be living in poverty, making an insufficient livelihood by keeping: a small village Store near East Grinstead. Her ladyship is quoted as saying that she has not a penny except what she makes in her shop and that she is sometimes hungry owing to the smallness of her income. She declares she lost all her money in helping another and that she would be grateful to any one providing her with remunerative employment."

November 22 1925 (various): Lady Decies, Broke, Runs a Shop. Reduced to absolute penury by the loss of all her money through helping a friend and still suffering from the wound she received during her war service in France, Gertrude lady Decies, widow of the fourth Baron Decies, is now struggling to support herself by keeping this little shop near East Grinstead, England, where she sell penny candles to village children, dispenses tea for passing cyclists, and runs a country boarding house for dogs.

Milton Bronner, NEA Service Writer interviewed Lady Decies and his article was published in American newspapers in March 1925: BARONESS NOW SELLING TEA AT ROADSIDE. Tuppeny Tip More Useful Than Medals to Lady Decies. Dane Hill, England. - Gertrude Dowager Baroness Decies - and thus connected by marriage with one of the oldest families of the British Nobility and with the purse-proud, millionaire Gould family of America - serves hot tea to thirsty motorists and is thankful for a tuppenny tip. She told me so herself. And judging by her looks, the appearance of the house, and every-thing connected with it, there was no faking about it.

I need it, said Lady Decies fervently as she pocketed the pennies.

December 1925: On 5th December, the Westminster Gazette reported "The Ladies' Kennel Association Show at the Crystal Palace. Gertrude Lady Decies, who had motored down with her maid and a store of dogs' jumpers for her stall at the [Dog] Show, was run into by a bus and cut across the face by broken glass, so that she had to be taken off then and there to Norwood Cottage Hospital."

In January 1926, she was interviewed about women participating in sports. This was a rather new thing in society and it had been suggested that the modern English girl who indulged in sports and athletics would neglect her dress and personal appearance and generally become unladylike. Lady Decies replied that this was far from being a fact Watch girls playing games, she averred, They are invariably neat and tidily turned out.

Because she was a regular news correspondent, American newspapers picked up many snippets about her. On September 29th, 1927, American newspapers reported Gertrude, Lady Decies, figured tonight as one of the principal witnesses in a sensational crime in an eastern suburb of London which cost the life of a policeman. Lady Decies was awakened in the early hours of the morning by the sound of revolver fire. She was able to testify that there had been a shooting, but could not identify the supposed assailants. The policeman was shot to death by supposed automobile thieves whom he intercepted as they were trying to escape with a stolen machine. Gertrude, Lady Decies, is a regular contributor to the Sunday News-Tribune, writing of London society events.

The Second World War

Her life changed again when, in 1936, she founded the Lady Decies Unit, working with the Red Cross, to aid soldiers injured in the war in Abyssinia. By that time, she was already treating woman patients at her nursing clinic at Lower Belgrave Street, London.

Aid For Ethiopian Wounded. The British Journal of Nursing, Page 50, Vol 84, February 1936:

To the Editor Madam, - The British public, quite apart from any question of partiality towards either contestant in the present East African tragedy, are deeply concerned about the sorry plight of the Abyssinian wounded, both military and civilian. The undeniable shortage of skilled surgical aid, both in field and base hospitals, is in a measure due to the complete absence of trained women nurses. The British Red Cross have been unwilling to assume the responsibility of sending out women nurses under their aegis, and, while it is not difficult to appreciate their point of view, the lack of skilled aid for the wounded, especially feminine aid, is producing heartrending suffering that might be avoided. Lady Decies, who rendered valuable services to our Own wounded during the War as a Red Cross nurse, has formed a small voluntary unit of skilled women surgical nurses, and the Emperor has gratefully accepted her offer to bring them to his country, where they will serve with the Ethiopian Red Cross under the Empress and Lady Barton, wife of the British Minister, Their arrival is now most eagerly awaited.

I am, &c., Nina Hamilton and Brandon, Lynsted, 25, St. Edmund s Terrace, Regent s Park, N.W.8.

British Nurses For Abyssinia. (Townsville Daily Bulletin (Queensland, Australia), Wednesday 18 March 1936: Undaunted by the Kalian bombing of ambulance units (Gertrude Lady Decies) accompanied by several women nurses, will shortly leave London for Abyssinia on a 'Florence Nightingale' mission. It will be the first European unit of women nurses to brave the perils of the war zone and conditions which only heroines could endure. Special permission for the entry of the unit into Abyssinia has been granted by the Emperor, who cabled that he was 'deeply touched' by this voluntary after of service. 'There is a desperate need for nurses In Abyssinia [modern-day Ethiopia], and one of the tasks to be undertaken by the unit will be the training of native nurses.'

Lady Decies' War Record. Lady Decies has a distinguished record in the nursing service. During the war when she served In France, Belgium and Russia, she was widely known as 'Sister Holly.' Her courage was such that she was mentioned three times In despatches and was awarded a French decoration equivalent to the V.C. During the Russian Revolution she endured terrible hardships which, she feels, could not be equalled by those she is about to face in Abyssinia.

OBITUARY. Gertrude Lady Decies. (The Glasgow Herald - Apr 5, 1939):

Gertrude Lady Decies died yesterday in a London nursing home after a long illness. She was over 70. Lady Decies was the wife of the late and sister-in-law of the present Lord Decies. She was awarded the French equivalent of the V.C. for her nursing work in the Great War. She also served during the Russian Revolution. In February 1936, she was to have led a band of British nurses and veterinary surgeons to Abyssinia, but a few days before the departure she fractured a leg. For her splendid nursing work she had gained nearly a dozen medals. Known as the modern Florence Nightingale, she was the widow of the fourth Baron, whom she married in 1901. He died in 1910.