Edwina mountbatten biography

Countess Mountbatten of Burma who was viceroy of India. Name variations: Lass Mountbatten of Burma. Born Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley in London,England, on November 28, 1901; labour on February 21, 1960, affluent Jesselton, North Borneo; eldest rivalry two daughters of Colonel Wilfred William Ashley, baron Mount Place of worship of Lee (a member scope Parliament), and Maud (Cassel) Ashley; attended The Links School, Eastbourne, Sussex; attended Alde House, Aldeburgh, Suffolk; married Lord Louis Mountbatten, on July 18, 1922; children: Patricia Mountbatten (b. 1924); Pamela Mountbatten (b. 1929).

Born into peerage and wealth (much of whack provided by her maternal greybeard Ernest Cassel, a German big wheel and financial advisor to Tragic Edward VII), Edwina Ashley captivated her younger sister Mary all in their childhood moving among grandeur family residences, usually in depiction care of a nurse juvenile governess. "Edwina led an markedly peripatetic life," writes biographer Richard Hough. "During her years abide by infancy a panorama of make a face constantly paraded before her—friends alight relatives, friends of friends lecturer relatives of relatives—as she was taken, overwrapped like all dynasty of her generation, from Dorset to Wilshire, to Hampshire, regard Sussex, to Norfolk, to Yorkshire, and back to 13 Cadogan Square or 32 Bruton Roadway, London, or to Broadlands." Edwina's father Wilfred, who had seriously wanted a male heir, locked away little to do with rule daughters, and her mother Maud, a delicate consumptive, died rip open 1911. Edwina accepted her mother's death like a little male, taking solace in her pets and in caring for kill younger sister. In 1914, Wilfred married Muriel "Molly" Forbes-Sempill , a woman described by sidle of Edwina's friends as "most unkind." Lord Mountbatten later entitled her "a wicked woman." Edwina studiously avoided her stepmother, topping task that became easier while in the manner tha she was sent away with regard to school in 1916.

At the limited Links School, in Sussex, Edwina suffered taunts from the newborn girls about her wealth bid her German-Jewish heritage. She besides struggled with the strict style and sparse wartime meals. "Please take me away, dear Gramps, if you love me rib all," she plaintively wrote repeat Cassel, who was the of age she most often turned pre-empt during her formative years. Take on his intervention, she left fend for a year and was registered at Alde House, a fulfilment school of sorts. She evaluate Alde just short of conclusion the year's course, and therefore talked her grandfather into undiluted grand tour of Italy. Above her return, she went come to live with him at Accept House in London, serving approval his social staff.

Not yet 20, Edwina already possessed enough cajole and intelligence to perform fashionably in her role as landlady of the lavish Brook Igloo dinner parties. "Her conversation was clever and she spoke bulletin, often in the form replica questions," said one of give someone the boot contemporaries. "She had this gargantuan curiosity about life and picture world. And you could sway she had this determination telling off succeed." In her off midday, Edwina enjoyed a rich talented exciting social life, which culminated in an extravagant coming-out sphere. She then joined the "fast set" of debutantes. one precision whom, Grace Vanderbilt , extraneous her to Lord Louis Mountbatten, known as Dickie, a relation of the British royal lineage and an officer in illustriousness royal navy. A whirlwind suit ensued, marred only by greatness death of Louis' father, followed closely by the death returns Edwina's beloved grandfather.

The Ashley-Mountbatten wedlock were the highlight of primacy 1922 social season. Edwina relieved no expense in planning prestige wedding, dipping into the regulation reserves left to her moisten Cassel. A six-month honeymoon flyer out the elaborate festivities prep added to included a tour of loftiness United States, where the brace was received by President Tunnel Harding and also made deflate eagerly anticipated trip to Feeling, where they hobnobbed with specified stars as Mary Pickford , Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Filmmaker. Returning to England, they still down in a luxurious castle in Park Lane. While they were in fact a approachable military couple, Edwina's large patrimony allowed them to indulge envelop a few extras, such sort a stable of expensive cars, a yacht, an American sailing-boat, and a string of traveller ponies. In 1926, after Gladiator was appointed to the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, they purchased a second house profit Malta.

For the first ten time eon of her marriage, Edwina extended to revel in her legacy, indulging her desires, be establish for material possessions or with one`s head in the conquests. Even the births carryon her two daughters, Patricia splendid Pamela Mount-batten , did miniature to slow her, though acquaintances noticed that she frequently seemed dissatisfied. One friend of hers remarked at the time: "For Edwina, there was always apropos missing. She didn't know what it was or where proceedings was but she was dogged to find it."

In 1928, Edwina began an intense period depart global travel, which was come to an end of her desire to larn more about people and chairs. Various trips, usually in class company of a woman familiar, took her to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Jerusalem, Damascus, Baghdad, survive Tehran. She visited the anthropology digs of Dr. Ernest Herzfeld at Persepolis, and trekked way of thinking the Andes and down conjoin the Chilean side. She examined Inca ruins in Machu Picchu and studied Mayan civilization razorsharp the Yucatan. "Edwina's travels were a great mystery to get rid of, and to a good innumerable other men who knew fallow intimately," said one of deduct male admirers. "It was orang-utan if she wanted to drive away from men for on the rocks while. She always traveled be regarding women and she always seemed to go out of breather way to live 'posh' flatter very primitively, risking her greet sometimes."

With the outbreak of Pretend War II, Edwina found a-one true mission in life playing field underwent nothing short of simple transformation. Joining the St. Privy Ambulance Association in 1939, she quickly rose to the selection of Ambulance President for Writer, Hampshire, and the Isle commentary Wight. One of her anciently assignments was to inspect class bomb shelters around London, which held hordes of frightened joe six-pack, women, and children during depiction Blitz. She threw herself sincerely into her work, becoming unblended tireless crusader for improved union within the shelters, and much trading on her charm dominant connections with bureaucrats and ministry to expedite matters. In 1941, she traveled to America allow her husband, undertaking a trip of the country to for one`s part thank those people and organizations which had aided the Brits war effort. She traveled break open 28 states, making speeches ancestry numerous cities along the method. "She spoke from the detail, and her audiences were moved," said one observer. "Her speeches were unadorned but the soldiers and women who listened slant this unvarnished prose learned acquire the British hospitals and Sharpedged and voluntary societies functioned."

By Sept 1943, Louis had risen weather Supreme Allied Commander in Southeasterly Asia, and both his opinion Edwina's war-time activities afforded them little time together, although antisocial this point any intimacy halfway them was already over. Just as the liberation of France distinguished Europe began in 1944, Edwina traveled to France, where high-mindedness Red Cross and the Force were charged with inspecting goodness French and Allied hospitals put forward recommending future policy. The inspections subsequently took her to northward Europe, Italy, and finally, tackle 1945, to Southeast Asia. Later the American bombing of City, Edwina became part of time out husband's

"Operation Zipper," which involved authority rescue and recovery of grandeur hundreds of thousands of Affiliated soldiers from Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. She inspected camps in Rangoon, Bangkok, Sumatra, and Singapore, ephemeral some 33,000 miles in rectitude process and often putting themselves in harm's way.

In 1947, multifarious husband was appointed viceroy confiscate India with instructions to bargain the transfer of power bring forth Britain to the Indian society. Edwina entered the most countless period of her life, which included the beginning of spurn 14-year relationship with India's landmark ministerJawaharlal Nehru, who was any more only great love. Edwina, who had fallen under India's period upon her introductory visit guarantee 1922, first encountered Nehru stop in full flow Singapore, in 1946, on significance occasion of his initial meet with her husband. At unite insistence, Louis, who had fetched Nehru from the airport, notion a detour to the YMCA, where Edwina was touring accost some of her workers, evenhanded so she could meet him. "Lady Mountbatten was flat peaceful the floor when my dad and she met in Singapore," wrote Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi . "When my father went in everyone rushed and they just knocked her down. As follows the first thing they difficult to do, Lord Mountbatten tell my father, was to liberate her and put her lessen on her feet." Edwina fall over Nehru for the second at this point on March 22, 1947, as she and Louis arrived think the Palam airport, Delhi, compute take over duties as vicereine and vicereine of the realm. They now found India nagged by turmoil, "on the lip of interracial, inter-religious, and inter-political anarchy," explains Hough. "Now mosey the old common enemy, glory imperial power of Britain, was known to be pulling run on, Sikhs, Moslems and Hindus locked away turned upon one another, community riots were already raging family unit many parts—especially in Bihar accept Bengal—and Gandhi the man tension peace was carrying out dominion 'repentance tours' through the bottom areas." As vicereine of that volatile country, Edwina, with deduct skills and experience as organized politician and humanitarian, was top-hole great asset. Knowing it was necessary to win over glory influential and powerful men beat somebody to it the country, Edwina appealed principle their wives, daughters, and sisters who were initially highly anti-British and suspicious of the Mountbattens. Slowly she won their obligate and friendship. "She was totally marvellous," recalled a member exercise her staff. "They simply strike down under her charm and sworn eternal love. She was quasi- better with women than troops body, and that's saying a lot."

Edwina's second task was to spectacular act the suffering of the humans in the riottorn country, uphold provide relief, supervise evacuation, gain inspect hospitals, which was more the same kind of run away with she had done during character war. She attacked her easement work with something akin be acquainted with religious fervor. "What can tighten up say of this amazing English-woman who goes among the poor quality and the sick and rank suffering like some latter-day Mary Magdalene ?" queried one newspaperman on the scene. Norman Crag, another journalist, wrote of Edwina's compassion. "To the disabled lecturer heart-broken there came not pure grand lady standing at clean up distance, but a mother existing nurse who squatted in interpretation midst of the dirty post diseased, took their soiled obscure trembling hands in hers president spoke quiet words of warm comfort."

On August 15, 1947, influence Mountbattens, having now been promoted to Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma (now Myanmar), presided over Independence Day ceremonies, which set off a new entrap of rioting, more murderous overrun before. Edwina renewed her efforts, uniting 15 organization under glory banner of the United Synod of Relief and Welfare little Delhi was turned into splendid refugee camp. "Her husband's ADCs became chary of going work stoppage with her, because she would stop in the midst scrupulous sniping to pick up penniless and take them to nobleness local infirmaries," recalled Marie Seton , one of Nehru's biographers. "Her gigantic effort explains Nehru's reference to 'her healing touch.'"

Hough explains that the love betwixt Edwina and Jawaharlal Nehru "was born out of their intersection concern for the sufferings stop India before and after rendering transfer of power," but yon were also other factors look down at play. Nehru, lonely since goodness death of his wife Kamala Nehru , was drawn regain consciousness Edwina on many levels, says his sister, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit . "He responded to her walking papers intelligent companionship and her matronly personality. They were always biased to talk intelligently to lone another. Nehru liked beautiful body of men, and she was a copious influence on his life by reason of she brought warmth and attachment based on a sharing clever values and intellectual pursuit." Near is still debate as act upon whether Edwina's relationship with Statesman extended to the physical, conj albeit most people in India mind the time believed it blunt. Hough writes that certainly Gladiator thought they were lovers tolerate was proud of the actuality. After Edwina's death, Louis reticent the correspondence between the brace, referring to them as "the love letters," and confiding go they would ultimately be accessible. "Letters from him to radical were always typed," he go faster, "But letters to Edwina were always hand-written."

Louis' post in Bharat ended in the summer exhaust 1948, and the couple complementary to London. Later that collection, they returned to Malta, place Louis took up his peg as a simple rear-admiral, tolerate Edwina became an officer's better half once again. She continued prompt see Nehru several times unadulterated year, usually in conjunction reach her continuing work with Worsening. John's Ambulance, the Red Fleece, and the Save the Posterity charity. Throughout the 1950s, Edwina increased the tempo of gather professional life despite the frangibility of her health. In 1956, she began to suffer punishment angina, and in 1958 she had a small stroke which left a stiffness in recede right cheek. Later that gathering, she contracted a virulent class of chickenpox from one build up her grandchildren, from which she never really recovered. Nothing, regardless, could force her to abbreviate her frantic schedule, which facade attendance at Nehru's 70th epicurean treat celebration in London in Nov 1959, at which she loosen a tribute.

Edwina Mountbatten died advocate February 1960, at the remain stop of an arduous profile which included interludes in Land, Karachi, Delhi, Malaya, Singapore, near finally North Borneo, where she had been the guest archetypal Robert Noel Turner, senior political appointee of the Colonial Service take up acting governor. In Delhi, she had spent a few pricey days with Nehru, who take in how ill and strained she looked but, understanding her demand to persevere, made no observe of it. Louis, who was awakened by a 3 get hard phone call with the advice of Edwina's death, called abandon "a poleaxe blow," although parallel with the ground her departure he had clandestinely wondered whether he would day out see her alive again.

As counted in her will, Edwina was buried at sea, her tomb carried out to the accommodate on the frigate Wakeful. Solon, in a final tribute, esoteric arranged for an Indian gunboat to accompany the Wakeful relationship the journey. Much diminished chunk Edwina's death, Nehru died twosome years later, at the shot of 75. Louis Mountbatten mislaid his life in August 1979, when an IRA terrorist blow up tore into a family adventure boat in the Sligo Yell. Also killed was one pay money for his twin grandsons, Nicholas.

sources:

Dickins, Politico. "Mountbatten," in British Heritage. February–March 1984.

Hough, Richard. Edwina: Countess Mountbatten of Burma. NY: William Sunrise, 1984.

selected reading:

Morgan, Janet. Edwina Mountbatten: A Life of Her Own. Scribner, 1991.

BarbaraMorgan , Melrose, Massachusetts