Roland Gwynne
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Roland Vaughan Gwynne, DSO
, DL
, JP
(16 May 188215 November 1971) was Mayor of Eastbourne
, Sussex
, from 1928 to 1931. He was also a patient and close friend of the suspected serial killer
Dr John Bodkin Adams
.
.
The renowned harpsichordist Violet Gordon-Woodhouse
was one of his sisters. One brother, Rupert
, was Member of Parliament
for Eastbourne
from 1910 until his death in 1924; his daughter was the celebrated cookery writer Elizabeth David
.
in the Sussex Yeomanry and made Lieutenant
on 1 April 1908. In 1904 Gwynne aided Viscount Turour
in his maiden election campaign in the constituency of Horsham
, which Turnour then held for the next 47 years. In 1910 Gwynne was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple
, where he practised in the Probate
and Divorce Division.
The First World War broke out when Gwynne was 32. He was sent a white feather
, a symbol of cowardice, by a "friend of the family" and in September 1916 he volunteered for active service and won the Distinguished Service Order
in Flanders
in 1917 while attached to the Queen's Royal Regiment, much to the surprise of his family. He was wounded twice, leaving him with a permanent limp.
On 8 April 1921 he was made a Deputy Lieutenant
of Sussex. In 1922 his mother died, leaving most of her money to Gwynne due to a family disagreement. That same year, Gwynne put his name forward as a Conservative
candidate for Lewes
, East Sussex
, but withdrew it when his brother Neville hinted to the selection committee that Gwynne was a homosexual (around this time MP Noel Pemberton Billing
was leading a witch hunt against homosexuals). John Bodkin Adams
arrived in Eastbourne that same year.
Rupert died in 1924, just after being reelected to Parliament
. Gwynne inherited his estate but, however, settled for local politics, being High Sheriff of Sussex
in 1926/27 and then becoming Mayor of Eastbourne in 1928. While mayor, in 1929 the town bought 4000 acres (16.2 km²) of land surrounding Beachy Head
, to save it from development, costing the town around £100,000.
His term as Mayor ended in 1931 and on 9 November that year he was made the 8th ever Honorary Freeman
of Eastbourne for his services to the borough. He stayed in local politics, being Chairman of East Sussex County Council from 1937 to 1940.
He constantly had financial problems, caused on the one hand by his extravagant lifestyle (he was famous for the wild parties he held at Folkington Manor
, attended by, among others, Freeman Freeman-Thomas, Viceroy of India
and Rudyard Kipling
) and on the other, by his sexuality, which made him a prime target for blackmail. Indeed, his butler Wilde was known by those close to him to be one such person extorting money from him. After Gwynne's death, love letters from various local jockeys were found among his papers.
During the Second World War he took to drink.
In 1947, burdened with debt, he was forced to rent out Folkington and move into the smaller Wootton Manor
.
, a general practitioner
, with whom he went on frequent shooting holidays to Scotland and Ireland. He would visit Adams every morning at 9 a.m. Historian Pamela Cullen speculates that the two were lovers.
In 1956, Adams was arrested on suspicion of murdering two of his patients. Gwynne was Chairman of the Magistrates in Lewes
, East Sussex
, and had to step down from the committal hearing due to a conflict of interest. During the proceedings though, Gwynne was seen dining with Lord Chief Justice Rayner Goddard
and former Attorney General
Hartley Shawcross at a hotel in Lewes
. Goddard had by then already appointed the judge for Adams' case, Patrick Devlin
. Later on, during the actual trial, while the jury was out discussing the verdict on Adams' first charge of murder, Goddard phoned Devlin to urge him in the case of Adams being found not guilty, to grant Adams bail
before he was tried on a second count of murder. Devlin was surprised since a person accused of murder had never been given bail before in British legal history. After their meeting at the hotel Gwynne crashed his car while driving home. He had not been drinking.
A month after the trial on May 10 1957, Goddard heard a contempt of court
case against magazine Newsweek
and the shop chain W. H. Smith, which on 1 April during Adams' trial had respectively published and distributed an issue of the magazine containing two paragraphs of material "highly prejudicial to the accused", saying that Adams' victim count could be "as high as 400". Each company was fined £50.
On 12 February 1957, Gwynne was knighted just before Adams' trial
began. Adams was eventually acquitted of one charge and the other was withdrawn controversially. Gwynne cooled his relationship with Adams and even admitted to police when interviewed in connection with the investigation into Adams, that he had given instructions to be buried in a lead-lined coffin
. This unusual procedure was usually designed to protect the water table
from contamination or to preserve evidence in case an exhumation might ever be necessary.
During the police investigation into Adams, a note written by a journalist was uncovered linking Adams sexually to a member of the local police and a local magistrate. The magistrate is thought by Cullen to have been Gwynne. Despite the illegality of homosexual sex in 1956/57, the police did not investigate the matter any further.
in 1965, which prevented him from controlling his own money and possessions.
He died on 15 November 1971 in a nursing home aged 89. His death certificate was signed by Dr Adams. His last will left his estate, valued at around £1.7 million to Sir Dingwall Bateson
, who predeceased him.
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
, JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(16 May 188215 November 1971) was Mayor of Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, from 1928 to 1931. He was also a patient and close friend of the suspected serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Dr John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
.
Childhood
Gwynne's father made a fortune in the nineteenth century from an engineering business and bought estates in Sussex with the proceeds. Gwynne's mother, May, was 41 when he was born. He was the last of nine children (though two had died). Until the age of 13, he was dressed by his mother as a girl in frocks, with bows, necklaces and long ringlets. He was educated privately before then being sent to Trinity Hall, CambridgeTrinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
.
The renowned harpsichordist Violet Gordon-Woodhouse
Violet Gordon-Woodhouse
Violet Gordon-Woodhouse was an acclaimed British harpsichordist and clavichordist, highly influential in bringing both instruments back into fashion.-Family:...
was one of his sisters. One brother, Rupert
Rupert Gwynne
Rupert Sackville Gwynne , was a British Conservative politician. He was Member of Parliament for Eastbourne from 1910 to 1924.-Early years:...
, was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Eastbourne
Eastbourne (UK Parliament constituency)
Eastbourne is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election. Traditionally a safe Conservative seat, Eastbourne became very marginal following the 1990...
from 1910 until his death in 1924; his daughter was the celebrated cookery writer Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David CBE was a British cookery writer who, in the mid-20th century, strongly influenced the revitalisation of the art of home cookery with articles and books about European cuisines and traditional British dishes.Born to an upper-class family, David rebelled against social norms of the...
.
Career
After university he served in the honorary post of Judge's Marshal. On 2 April 1904 he was commissioned a Second LieutenantSecond Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the Sussex Yeomanry and made Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on 1 April 1908. In 1904 Gwynne aided Viscount Turour
Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton
Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton PC , known as Viscount Turnour until 1907, was an Irish peer and British politician in the first half of the twentieth century who achieved the rare distinction of serving as both Baby of the House and Father of the House at the opposite ends of his career in the...
in his maiden election campaign in the constituency of Horsham
Horsham (UK Parliament constituency)
Horsham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
, which Turnour then held for the next 47 years. In 1910 Gwynne was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, where he practised in the Probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
and Divorce Division.
The First World War broke out when Gwynne was 32. He was sent a white feather
White feather
A white feather has been a traditional symbol of cowardice, used and recognised especially within the British Army and in countries associated with the British Empire since the 18th century...
, a symbol of cowardice, by a "friend of the family" and in September 1916 he volunteered for active service and won the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
in 1917 while attached to the Queen's Royal Regiment, much to the surprise of his family. He was wounded twice, leaving him with a permanent limp.
On 8 April 1921 he was made a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Sussex. In 1922 his mother died, leaving most of her money to Gwynne due to a family disagreement. That same year, Gwynne put his name forward as a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate for Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, but withdrew it when his brother Neville hinted to the selection committee that Gwynne was a homosexual (around this time MP Noel Pemberton Billing
Noel Pemberton Billing
Noel Pemberton Billing was an English aviator, inventor, publisher, and Member of Parliament. He founded the firm that became Supermarine and promoted air power, but he held a strong antipathy towards the Royal Aircraft Factory and its products...
was leading a witch hunt against homosexuals). John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
arrived in Eastbourne that same year.
Rupert died in 1924, just after being reelected to Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. Gwynne inherited his estate but, however, settled for local politics, being High Sheriff of Sussex
High Sheriff of Sussex
-History:The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the...
in 1926/27 and then becoming Mayor of Eastbourne in 1928. While mayor, in 1929 the town bought 4000 acres (16.2 km²) of land surrounding Beachy Head
Beachy Head
Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m above sea level. The peak allows views of the south...
, to save it from development, costing the town around £100,000.
His term as Mayor ended in 1931 and on 9 November that year he was made the 8th ever Honorary Freeman
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of Eastbourne for his services to the borough. He stayed in local politics, being Chairman of East Sussex County Council from 1937 to 1940.
He constantly had financial problems, caused on the one hand by his extravagant lifestyle (he was famous for the wild parties he held at Folkington Manor
Folkington Manor
Folkington Manor is a grade II listed country house situated in the hamlet of Folkington two miles west of Polegate, East Sussex, England.-History:...
, attended by, among others, Freeman Freeman-Thomas, Viceroy of India
Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon
Major Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada, the 13th since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and Governor-General of India, the country's 22nd.Freeman-Thomas was born in England and...
and Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
) and on the other, by his sexuality, which made him a prime target for blackmail. Indeed, his butler Wilde was known by those close to him to be one such person extorting money from him. After Gwynne's death, love letters from various local jockeys were found among his papers.
During the Second World War he took to drink.
In 1947, burdened with debt, he was forced to rent out Folkington and move into the smaller Wootton Manor
Wootton Manor
Wootton Manor is a Jacobean country house in Folkington, East Sussex. The current buildings are situated on the site of a mediaeval manor house. Rupert Gwynne and his wife settled in the house after their marriage in 1905, and later commissioned Detmar Blow to restore and extend the house and add...
.
John Bodkin Adams
Gwynne never married but established a close friendship with AdamsJohn Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
, a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
, with whom he went on frequent shooting holidays to Scotland and Ireland. He would visit Adams every morning at 9 a.m. Historian Pamela Cullen speculates that the two were lovers.
In 1956, Adams was arrested on suspicion of murdering two of his patients. Gwynne was Chairman of the Magistrates in Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, and had to step down from the committal hearing due to a conflict of interest. During the proceedings though, Gwynne was seen dining with Lord Chief Justice Rayner Goddard
Rayner Goddard, Baron Goddard
Rayner Goddard, Baron Goddard was Lord Chief Justice of England from 1946 to 1958 and known for his strict sentencing and conservative views. He was nicknamed the 'Tiger' and "Justice-in-a-jiffy" for his no-nonsense manner...
and former Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Hartley Shawcross at a hotel in Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
. Goddard had by then already appointed the judge for Adams' case, Patrick Devlin
Patrick Devlin, Baron Devlin
Patrick Arthur Devlin, Baron Devlin, PC was a British lawyer, judge and jurist. He wrote a report on Britain's involvement in Nyasaland in 1959...
. Later on, during the actual trial, while the jury was out discussing the verdict on Adams' first charge of murder, Goddard phoned Devlin to urge him in the case of Adams being found not guilty, to grant Adams bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
before he was tried on a second count of murder. Devlin was surprised since a person accused of murder had never been given bail before in British legal history. After their meeting at the hotel Gwynne crashed his car while driving home. He had not been drinking.
A month after the trial on May 10 1957, Goddard heard a contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
case against magazine Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and the shop chain W. H. Smith, which on 1 April during Adams' trial had respectively published and distributed an issue of the magazine containing two paragraphs of material "highly prejudicial to the accused", saying that Adams' victim count could be "as high as 400". Each company was fined £50.
On 12 February 1957, Gwynne was knighted just before Adams' trial
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
began. Adams was eventually acquitted of one charge and the other was withdrawn controversially. Gwynne cooled his relationship with Adams and even admitted to police when interviewed in connection with the investigation into Adams, that he had given instructions to be buried in a lead-lined coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
. This unusual procedure was usually designed to protect the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
from contamination or to preserve evidence in case an exhumation might ever be necessary.
During the police investigation into Adams, a note written by a journalist was uncovered linking Adams sexually to a member of the local police and a local magistrate. The magistrate is thought by Cullen to have been Gwynne. Despite the illegality of homosexual sex in 1956/57, the police did not investigate the matter any further.
Post Adams
Gwynne fell into depression and in 1963 suffered a stroke. He was made a ward of the Court of ProtectionCourt of Protection
The Court of Protection in English law is a superior court of record created under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It has jurisdiction over the property, financial affairs and personal welfare of people who lack mental capacity to make decisions for themselves...
in 1965, which prevented him from controlling his own money and possessions.
He died on 15 November 1971 in a nursing home aged 89. His death certificate was signed by Dr Adams. His last will left his estate, valued at around £1.7 million to Sir Dingwall Bateson
Sir Dingwall Latham Bateson
Sir Dingwall "Dingo" Latham Bateson, CBE, MC was a British solicitor and President of the Law Society.-Background:Bateson was the son of judge Sir Alexander Dingwall Bateson and Isabel Mary, the fourth daughter of William Latham QC...
, who predeceased him.