TOM MITFORD : A FEARFUL OLD TWISTER
A NEW BOOK FROM WILLIAM CROSS, FSA SCOT
Best price copies of the book are available direct from William Cross.
email Will williecross@aol.com
Good priced copies are on ebay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205370860408
A NOTE ABOUT TOM MITFORD
Tom Mitford died 80 years ago this year (2025) on Good Friday, 30 March 1945. It is therefore a most fitting time to give him a retrospective glance, a biographical sketch, and this is why this narrative has been compiled.
It first takes the form and outline of a chronology/timeline from Tom’s birth in 1909 onwards, through his early childhood days growing up in wartime London, then to the Cotswolds countryside alongside his somewhat dysfunctional parents and sisters. Then, in 1919, on to prep School at Locker’s Park, Hemel Hempstead, where he made several friends for life amongst his contemporaries, some of whom are themselves minor historical figures. Next, in 1922, onward to Eton College, and in 1928 to Tom’s serious study of music and law and facing the growing pangs of temptation and love in Hungary, Austria and Germany, followed by his return home to train at the bar and become a barrister, and was some time a Judge.
Later on in the 1930s Tom’s glorified chaperone role to serve his Nazi-loving sisters Diana and Unity in sometimes driving them though Nazi Germany where he was compelled to meet Adolf Hitler and attend propaganda rallies. Drawn into the politics of the time in the flare path of his sisters’ alarming beliefs, he does seem vulnerable to accusations of sharing more than a curiosity about the Nazis, particularly based on some pro-Nazi remarks he made in the 1940s, a confession of his beliefs to an old school friend, James Lees-Milne. That disclosure has been taken as confirming Tom’s much truer posture, yet it may also be an example of Tom’s ability to twist things round so that people hear what they want to hear.
Other aspects of Tom’s life are considered, too. Central to them is his branding as being a pleasure-seeker of sexual experiences, some of them on the edge of being decadent and depraved. Tom’s many “love” (read carnal) affairs with men and women are covered. Also previously unpublished letters, written by Tom in his long, fiery relationship with the Austrian ballet dancer Tilly Losch.
Besides all that, there is passing
mention of some of Tom’s court cases as a lawyer, and as Judge Advocate
presiding over
ENQUIRIES ABOUT THE BOOK PLEASE EMAIL THE COMPILER WILLIAM CROSS
William Cross, FSA Scot
OTHER BOOKS FROM
WILLIAM CROSS, FSA SCOT
Catherine and Tilly : Porchey Carnarvon’s Two Duped Wives
Catherine Wendell and Tilly Losch
The Tragic Tales of the Sixth Countesses of Carnarvon
Porchey Carnarvon and his first wife Catherine Wendell, one of two beautiful American-born Wendell sisters.
Catherine is seen here enjoying a shared passion for horse racing with her first husband.
Catherine married Porchey in 1922 and divorced him in 1936.
Catherine remarried twice and died in Switzerland in 1977.
Catherine and Tilly: Porchey Carnarvon's Two Duped Wives
The Tragic Tales of the Sixth Countesses of Carnarvon
ISBN 1-905914-25-3 and ISBN 9781905914258
PUBLICATION DATE : 18 NOVEMBER 2013
£12.00 + P & P £3.00 UK £9.00 USA/ CANADA/ AUSTRALIA/ NEW ZEALAND
PLEASE CONTACT WILLIAM CROSS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
New Book In the Autumn of 2013
In 2011 William Cross, the author of the best selling biography "The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon" disclosed the many hidden truths about the 5th Countess of Carnarvon and her family
Now in a follow-up title " Catherine and Tilly : Porchey Carnarvon's Two Duped Wives" Cross will provide the compelling story of the two woman who were lured into marriage by Almina's only son, the outrageous Henry, 6th Earl of Carnarvon, dubbed 'Randy Carnarvon'
Among the many amazing facts the book will explain the following and much more
The quaint background and social standing of Catherine and Tilly
The family secrets of these two women
How Porchey lured Catherine and Tilly into marriage but continued countless other carnal affairs
The identity of the high placed admirers of Catherine and Tilly who tried to save them from self-harm and ruin
The tangled relationship Countess Almina had with her son and two daughters in law
The years of sorrow and anguish for Catherine and Tilly littered with tragedy
Using previously unpublished facts and testimony including the startling recollections of several people who knew Almina, Porchey, Catherine and Tilly, Cross spills the beans in a highly controversial narrative that will challenge any incomplete, romantised and inaccurate stories of Porchey's wives Catherine Wendell and Tilly Losch
Porchey was a cad but these two girls were certainly no angels
This is another book to rock the rafters at Highclere Castle and dent the old world Establishment
A divorcee, ( she was previously married to the artist Edward James ) Tilly Losch ( pictured above ) married Porchey Carnarvon in 1939 and divorced him in 1947. Tilly died in New York on Christmas Eve of 1975.
