John Herbert Bowes-Lyon
Encyclopedia
John Herbert "Jock" Bowes-Lyon (1 April 1886 – 7 February 1930), was the second son of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
and the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
, the favourite brother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
(the future Queen Elizabeth and later the Queen Mother). He was an uncle to Queen Elizabeth II, although he died when she was a small child.
Fenella Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (19 August 1889 – 19 July 1966), the younger daughter of the Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton
. They had five children, all girls:
Before the outbreak of World War I
, John worked as a stockbroker in the City of London
for the firm Rowe and Pitman. In 1915, he was posted with the Black Watch
and just prior to the Battle of Aubers Ridge
that year, he accidentally shot himself in his left forefinger. It was amputated the following day and while receiving treatment in the UK
, he admitting having experienced a nervous breakdown
in 1912 and also suffered from neurasthenia
. Late that year, he was posted to the Ministry of Munitions and then in the Territorial Army in 1916. After the war, he was twice threatened with courts-martial
after having failed to show on parade for demobilisation and later returned to his job in the City.
Jock died at the family home of Glamis Castle
just after midnight on the morning of 7 February 1930 of pneumonia, aged 44, leaving his widow to care for their four young children alone. (Two of them, Nerissa and Katherine, were severely mentally disabled.) Three days later he was buried at St Paul's Walden Bury
.
the Queen Mother, the two daughters are first cousins of Queen Elizabeth II, sharing one pair of grandparents, Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
and Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
.
In 1987, it was revealed that Nerissa and Katherine had been placed in Earlswood Hospital
for the mentally disabled in 1941. Although Nerissa died in 1986, and Katherine is still alive (as of 2011), both had been listed in Burke's Peerage
as being dead since the 1963 edition. Suggestions of a royal cover-up were rejected in the press by Lord Clinton
, who thought that his aunt Fenella (the mother of the two daughters), had completed the form for Burke's Peerage incorrectly due to 'vagueness'; however, Burke's Peerage included specific dates of death for both sisters. According to a 2011 television documentary about the sisters, "throughout their time at the hospital, there is no known record that the sisters were ever visited by any member of the Bowes-Lyon or royal families, despite their aunt, the Queen Mother, being a Patron of MENCAP
" (the charity for people with a learning disability
). Nurses interviewed on the documentary said that, to their knowledge, the family never even sent the sisters a birthday or Christmas gift or card. When Nerissa died in 1986, none of her family attended the funeral. She was buried at Redhill Cemetery. Her grave was only marked with plastic tags and a serial number until her existence was revealed in the media, after when the family added a proper gravestone.
Three other mentally disabled cousins also lived in Earlswood Hospital. Nerissa and Katherine's mother, Fenella, had a sister Harriet Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis
(1887-1958) who married Major Henry Nevile Fane, and together had seven children; three of them who lived in Earlswood Hospital were Idonea Elizabeth Fane (1912-2001), Rosemary Jean Fane (b. 1914) and Ethelreda Flavia Fane (1922-1996). Prof. David Danks, then director of the Murdoch Institute, thought that a genetic disease may have killed male members of the family in early childhood.
In 1996 the surviving cousins were moved to Ketwin House care home in Surrey, and after it was closed in 2001, on to another care home in Surrey.
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, KG, KT, GCVO, TD, was a landowner and the maternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II....
and the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Cecilia Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, GCVO, DStJ was the mother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and maternal grandmother and godmother of Queen Elizabeth II.-Life:She was born in London, the eldest daughter of Rev...
, the favourite brother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
(the future Queen Elizabeth and later the Queen Mother). He was an uncle to Queen Elizabeth II, although he died when she was a small child.
Personal life
On 29 September 1914, John married The HonourableThe Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Fenella Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (19 August 1889 – 19 July 1966), the younger daughter of the Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton
Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton
Charles John Robert Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton, GCVO, PC was a British peer.Trefusis was the eldest son of the 20th Baron Clinton and his wife, Harriet. On 1 June 1886, he married his third cousin Lady Jane McDonnell and they had two daughters:*Hon...
. They had five children, all girls:
- Patricia Bowes-Lyon (6 July 1916 – 18 June 1917), died in infancy
- Anne Ferelith Fenella Bowes-Lyon (4 December 1917 – 26 September 1980)
- Nerissa Jane Irene Bowes-Lyon (18 February 1919 – 22 January 1986)
- Diana Cinderella Mildred Bowes-Lyon (14 December 1923 – 1986) m. Peter Gordon Colin Somervell
- Katherine Bowes-Lyon (born 4 July 1926)
Before the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, John worked as a stockbroker in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
for the firm Rowe and Pitman. In 1915, he was posted with the Black Watch
Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)
It all began in 1725 when General Wade, as leader of the King's Army in Scotland, and involved in his great project of building the military roads there, set up six companies of the Highland "Watch". These were formed to stop fighting among the clans; controlling the roads was an important part of...
and just prior to the Battle of Aubers Ridge
Battle of Aubers Ridge
The Battle of Aubers Ridge was a British offensive mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I.- Background :The battle was the initial British component of the combined Anglo-French offensive known as the Second Battle of Artois...
that year, he accidentally shot himself in his left forefinger. It was amputated the following day and while receiving treatment in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, he admitting having experienced a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
in 1912 and also suffered from neurasthenia
Neurasthenia
Neurasthenia is a psycho-pathological term first used by George Miller Beard in 1869 to denote a condition with symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, headache, neuralgia and depressed mood...
. Late that year, he was posted to the Ministry of Munitions and then in the Territorial Army in 1916. After the war, he was twice threatened with courts-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
after having failed to show on parade for demobilisation and later returned to his job in the City.
Jock died at the family home of Glamis Castle
Glamis Castle
Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public....
just after midnight on the morning of 7 February 1930 of pneumonia, aged 44, leaving his widow to care for their four young children alone. (Two of them, Nerissa and Katherine, were severely mentally disabled.) Three days later he was buried at St Paul's Walden Bury
St Paul's Walden Bury
St. Paul's Walden Bury is a stately home and surrounding gardens located in the village of St Paul's Walden in Hertfordshire. A home of the Bowes-Lyon family, it is best known for its connection to the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother...
.
Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon
Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon are two of the daughters of John Herbert Bowes-Lyon and his wife Fenella (née Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis). As John was the brother of Elizabeth Bowes-LyonElizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
the Queen Mother, the two daughters are first cousins of Queen Elizabeth II, sharing one pair of grandparents, Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, KG, KT, GCVO, TD, was a landowner and the maternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II....
and Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Cecilia Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, GCVO, DStJ was the mother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and maternal grandmother and godmother of Queen Elizabeth II.-Life:She was born in London, the eldest daughter of Rev...
.
In 1987, it was revealed that Nerissa and Katherine had been placed in Earlswood Hospital
Royal Earlswood Hospital
The Royal Earlswood Hospital or The Royal Earlswood Asylum for Idiots in Redhill, Surrey was the first establishment to cater specifically for people with learning disabilities...
for the mentally disabled in 1941. Although Nerissa died in 1986, and Katherine is still alive (as of 2011), both had been listed in Burke's Peerage
Burke's Peerage
Burke's Peerage publishes authoritative, in-depth historical guides to the royal and titled families of the United Kingdom, such as Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, and of many other countries. Founded in 1826 by British genealogist John Burke Esq., and continued by his son, Sir John...
as being dead since the 1963 edition. Suggestions of a royal cover-up were rejected in the press by Lord Clinton
Baron Clinton
Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1298 for John de Clinton. The peerage was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. The first Baron's great-great-great-grandson, the fifth Baron, fought on the Yorkist side in the Wars...
, who thought that his aunt Fenella (the mother of the two daughters), had completed the form for Burke's Peerage incorrectly due to 'vagueness'; however, Burke's Peerage included specific dates of death for both sisters. According to a 2011 television documentary about the sisters, "throughout their time at the hospital, there is no known record that the sisters were ever visited by any member of the Bowes-Lyon or royal families, despite their aunt, the Queen Mother, being a Patron of MENCAP
Mencap
The Royal Mencap Society is a charity based in the UK that works with people with a learning disability.-Profile:Mencap is the UK's leading learning disability charity working with people with a learning disability and their families and carers...
" (the charity for people with a learning disability
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
). Nurses interviewed on the documentary said that, to their knowledge, the family never even sent the sisters a birthday or Christmas gift or card. When Nerissa died in 1986, none of her family attended the funeral. She was buried at Redhill Cemetery. Her grave was only marked with plastic tags and a serial number until her existence was revealed in the media, after when the family added a proper gravestone.
Three other mentally disabled cousins also lived in Earlswood Hospital. Nerissa and Katherine's mother, Fenella, had a sister Harriet Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis
Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton
Charles John Robert Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 21st Baron Clinton, GCVO, PC was a British peer.Trefusis was the eldest son of the 20th Baron Clinton and his wife, Harriet. On 1 June 1886, he married his third cousin Lady Jane McDonnell and they had two daughters:*Hon...
(1887-1958) who married Major Henry Nevile Fane, and together had seven children; three of them who lived in Earlswood Hospital were Idonea Elizabeth Fane (1912-2001), Rosemary Jean Fane (b. 1914) and Ethelreda Flavia Fane (1922-1996). Prof. David Danks, then director of the Murdoch Institute, thought that a genetic disease may have killed male members of the family in early childhood.
In 1996 the surviving cousins were moved to Ketwin House care home in Surrey, and after it was closed in 2001, on to another care home in Surrey.