Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll
Encyclopedia
Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll and 5th Baron Kilmarnock (11 May 1901, Mayfair
, London
– 24 January 1941, Nairobi
-Ngong road
, Kenya
) was a British peer
, famed for the unsolved case surrounding his murder and the sensation it caused during wartime
Britain.
(later Earl of Erroll
) and his wife Lucy, the only daughter of Sir Allan Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet. In 1911, he attended the coronation of George V
and carried his grandfather's coronet
. He began at Eton College
in 1914 but was dismissed two years later.
Although possessing one of Scotland's most distinguished titles, the earls, by this time, had no wealth, and had to develop careers to earn their living. In 1920, Hay was appointed honorary attaché
at Berlin
under his father, who was earlier appointed chargé d'affaires
there before the arrival of Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernon
. His father was soon appointed High Commissioner
to the Rhineland
, but Hay stayed in Berlin and served under Lord D'Abernon until 1922.
After passing the Foreign Office examinations, Hay was expected to follow his father into diplomacy, but instead became infatuated with Lady Idina Sackville
, a daughter of Gilbert Sackville, 8th Earl De La Warr, divorced wife of the politician Euan Wallace
and the current wife of Charles Gordon. Lady Idina soon divorced her husband in 1923 and she and Hay were married on 22 September 1923.
in 1924, financing the move with Idina's money. Their home was a bungalow on the slopes of the Aberdare Range
which they called Slains, after the former Hay family seat of Slains Castle
which was sold by Hay's grandfather, the 20th Earl
, in 1916. The bungalow was sited alongside the high altitude farms which other white settlers were establishing at the time.
The Happy Valley set
were a group of elite, colonial expatriate
s who became notorious for drug use
, drinking
, adultery
and promiscuity
amongst other things. Hay soon became a part of this group and accumulated debts. After Hay had inherited his father's titles in 1928, his wife divorced him in 1930 because he was cheating her financially and Hay married the divorced Edith Maud Ramsay-Hill on 8 February 1930. They lived in Oserian, a Moroccan
-style house on the shores of Lake Naivasha
and his new wife succumbed to the hedonistic
lifestyle of Happy Valley.
On a visit to England in 1934, Lord Erroll joined Oswald Mosley
's British Union of Fascists
and on his return to Kenya a year later, became president of the Convention of Associations. He attended the coronation of George VI
in 1936 and was elected to the legislative council as member for Kiambu
in 1939. On the outbreak of World War II
that year, Lord Erroll became a captain
in the Kenya Regiment
and accepted the post of Military Secretary
for East Africa
in 1940.
On 13 October 1939, Lady Erroll died. At the Muthaiga Country Club
in 1940, Lord Erroll met Diana Cholmondeley, Baroness Delamere, the wife of Sir Jock Delves Broughton, Bt.
at a crossroads on the Nairobi
-Ngong
road on 24 January 1941. Sir Jock was accused of the murder, arrested on 10 March and stood trial from 26 May. Accounting for the fact that there were no eyewitness
es, the evidence against him was weak and his hairdresser was also foreman of the jury, Sir Jock was acquitted
on 1 July. He committed suicide in England a year later.
Lord Erroll was buried in the graveyard of St Paul's Church, Kiambu, Kenya next to his second wife. His earldom and lordship of Hay passed to his only daughter, Diana
, by his first wife, whilst his barony of Kilmarnock
passed to his brother, Gilbert.
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
– 24 January 1941, Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
-Ngong road
Ngong, Kenya
Ngong is a town near the Ngong Hills along the Great Rift Valley, located in the southwest of Nairobi, in southern Kenya. The word "Ngong" is a Maasai word meaning "knuckles"...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
) was a British peer
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
, famed for the unsolved case surrounding his murder and the sensation it caused during wartime
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Britain.
Early life
Hay was the eldest son of the diplomat Victor Hay, Lord KilmarnockVictor Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll
Victor Alexander Sereld Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll and 4th Baron Kilmarnock, KCMG , was a British diplomat and briefly a member of the House of Lords.-Family:...
(later Earl of Erroll
Earl of Erroll
The Earl of Erroll is an ancient title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay.The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are Lord Hay and Lord Slains , both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable...
) and his wife Lucy, the only daughter of Sir Allan Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet. In 1911, he attended the coronation of George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and carried his grandfather's coronet
Coronet
A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. Unlike a crown, a coronet never has arches.The word stems from the Old French coronete, a diminutive of coronne , itself from the Latin corona .Traditionally, such headgear is – as indicated by the German equivalent...
. He began at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
in 1914 but was dismissed two years later.
Although possessing one of Scotland's most distinguished titles, the earls, by this time, had no wealth, and had to develop careers to earn their living. In 1920, Hay was appointed honorary attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
under his father, who was earlier appointed chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
there before the arrival of Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernon
Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernon
Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernon, GCB, GCMG, PC, FRS was a British politician, diplomat, art collector and author.-Early life:...
. His father was soon appointed High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
to the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
, but Hay stayed in Berlin and served under Lord D'Abernon until 1922.
After passing the Foreign Office examinations, Hay was expected to follow his father into diplomacy, but instead became infatuated with Lady Idina Sackville
Idina Sackville
Lady Myra Idina Sackville was a British aristocrat and member of the infamous Happy Valley set. Her deviant behaviour and promiscuous lifestyle scandalised upper class society.-Life and marriages:...
, a daughter of Gilbert Sackville, 8th Earl De La Warr, divorced wife of the politician Euan Wallace
Euan Wallace
Captain David Euan Wallace, MC, MP, PC was a British Conservative politician who briefly served as Minister of Transport during World War II...
and the current wife of Charles Gordon. Lady Idina soon divorced her husband in 1923 and she and Hay were married on 22 September 1923.
Kenya
After causing a society scandal due to their marriage - she was twice-divorced, notoriously unconventional in many ways, and eight years his senior - Hay and his wife moved to KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in 1924, financing the move with Idina's money. Their home was a bungalow on the slopes of the Aberdare Range
Aberdare Range
The Aberdare Range is a 160 km long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of . It is located in west central Kenya, northeast of Naivasha and Gilgil and just south of the Equator...
which they called Slains, after the former Hay family seat of Slains Castle
Slains Castle
New Slains Castle is a ruined castle near Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, overlooking the North Sea.The remains stand perched atop tall, sea-facing cliffs, constructed around an existing tower house built in 1597 by the 9th Earl of Erroll. Significant reconstruction of the castle has been...
which was sold by Hay's grandfather, the 20th Earl
Charles Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll
Charles Gore Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll and 3rd Baron Kilmarnock, KT, CB , known as Lord Hay until 1891, was a Scottish soldier and Conservative politician....
, in 1916. The bungalow was sited alongside the high altitude farms which other white settlers were establishing at the time.
The Happy Valley set
Happy Valley set
The Happy Valley set was a group of privileged British colonials living in the Happy Valley region of the Wanjohi Valley,near the Aberdare mountain range, in the colonies of Kenya and Uganda during the 1920s - 1940s...
were a group of elite, colonial expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
s who became notorious for drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, drinking
Binge drinking
Binge drinking or heavy episodic drinking is the modern epithet for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide,...
, adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
and promiscuity
Promiscuity
In humans, promiscuity refers to less discriminating casual sex with many sexual partners. The term carries a moral or religious judgement and is viewed in the context of the mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to take place within exclusive committed relationships...
amongst other things. Hay soon became a part of this group and accumulated debts. After Hay had inherited his father's titles in 1928, his wife divorced him in 1930 because he was cheating her financially and Hay married the divorced Edith Maud Ramsay-Hill on 8 February 1930. They lived in Oserian, a Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
-style house on the shores of Lake Naivasha
Lake Naivasha
Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, lying north west of Nairobi, outside the town of Naivasha. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name Nai'posha, meaning "rough water" because of the sudden storms which can arise...
and his new wife succumbed to the hedonistic
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
lifestyle of Happy Valley.
On a visit to England in 1934, Lord Erroll joined Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
's British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
and on his return to Kenya a year later, became president of the Convention of Associations. He attended the coronation of George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
in 1936 and was elected to the legislative council as member for Kiambu
Kiambu
Kiambu is a town in Central Province, Kenya. It is located at around , in the elevation of about 1,720 m. It has an urban population of 13,814. It is the capital of the Kiambu District, which bounds the northern border of Nairobi...
in 1939. On the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that year, Lord Erroll became a captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in the Kenya Regiment
Kenya Regiment
The Kenya Regiment was formed in 1937 and disbanded in May 1963.Volunteers were recalled in about 1950, with European settlers making up the main force. At the end of 1950 a call-up of eighteen-year-olds was introduced as the Mau Mau uprising was beginning...
and accepted the post of Military Secretary
Military Secretary
The Military Secretary is the British Army appointment of which the incumbent is responsible for policy direction on personnel management for members of the British Army. It is a senior British Army appointment, held by an officer holding the rank of Major-General. The Military Secretary's...
for East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
in 1940.
On 13 October 1939, Lady Erroll died. At the Muthaiga Country Club
Muthaiga Country Club
The Muthaiga Country Club is a club in Nairobi, Kenya. It is located in the suburb of Muthaiga, about 15 minutes drive from the city center.The Muthaiga Country Club opened on New Year's Eve in 1913, and became a gathering place for the elite society of British East Africa, which later became the...
in 1940, Lord Erroll met Diana Cholmondeley, Baroness Delamere, the wife of Sir Jock Delves Broughton, Bt.
Jock Delves Broughton
Henry John Delves Broughton, 11th Baronet Broughton was a British aristocrat who is chiefly known for standing trial for the murder of Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll...
Murder
Delves Broughton learned of the affair and after spending a night with Lady Delves Broughton, Lord Erroll was found shot dead in his BuickBuick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
at a crossroads on the Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
-Ngong
Ngong, Kenya
Ngong is a town near the Ngong Hills along the Great Rift Valley, located in the southwest of Nairobi, in southern Kenya. The word "Ngong" is a Maasai word meaning "knuckles"...
road on 24 January 1941. Sir Jock was accused of the murder, arrested on 10 March and stood trial from 26 May. Accounting for the fact that there were no eyewitness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
es, the evidence against him was weak and his hairdresser was also foreman of the jury, Sir Jock was acquitted
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
on 1 July. He committed suicide in England a year later.
Lord Erroll was buried in the graveyard of St Paul's Church, Kiambu, Kenya next to his second wife. His earldom and lordship of Hay passed to his only daughter, Diana
Diana Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll
Diana Denyse Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll was a British peeress suo jure.Diana was only child of Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll and his first wife, Idina Sackville...
, by his first wife, whilst his barony of Kilmarnock
Baron Kilmarnock
Baron Kilmarnock, of Kilmarnock in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1831 for William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll. This was a revival of the Kilmarnock title held by his great-grandfather William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock, who was attainted in 1746...
passed to his brother, Gilbert.
Popular culture
- The BBC television drama The Happy ValleyThe Happy ValleyThe Happy Valley is a British television drama, first shown on BBC1 on 6 September 1987 in the Sunday Premiere strand. It was written by David Reid, directed by Richard Devenish, and produced by Cedric Messina...
, first transmitted on 6 September 1987, told the story of Erroll's murder, as seen through the eyes of 15 year-old the Hon. Juanita Carbery, daughter of Lord Carbery, to whom Broughton confessed his guilt even before he was arrested. - The incident inspired James Fox's 1982 investigative book White Mischief, which was in 19871987 in film-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
adapted into the film of the same titleWhite MischiefWhite Mischief is a 1987 film dramatising the events of the Happy Valley murder case in Kenya in 1941, when Sir Henry "Jock" Delves Broughton was tried for the murder of Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll....
by Michael RadfordMichael RadfordMichael Radford is an English film director and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Radford was born on 24 February 1946, in New Delhi, India, to a British father and an Austrian Jewish mother. He was educated at Bedford School before attending Worcester College, Oxford...
. - It was also adapted into an episode of the mini-series Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious MurderJulian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious MurderJulian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder is a British five-part docudrama series produced by Touchpaper Television , which premièred on BBC One on 16 October 2004.-Overview:...
- The Case of the Earl of Erroll in 2005.
Sources
- Davenport-Hines, Richard - Hay, Josslyn Victor, twenty-second earl of Erroll (1901–1941), colonist in Kenya and philanderer - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Genealogy website