unadulterated goodness’, adding that she was also quite unaware of her own beauty. No one who knew her would argue with him.
Pam moved into Rignell Hall with Derek in the autumn of 1936, anticipating his forthcoming divorce from Poppet John by a few months, and it was from here that they drove to High Wycombe, where the Redesdale family was now living, to announce their engagement. Fifteen-year-old Deborah, who had met Derek on the hunting field and imagined herself in love with him, fainted on hearing the news.
Derek was madly in love with Pam, as his letters during their courtship show beyond doubt. This one was written early in 1936 while she was motoring in Austria:
Darling, you are so wonderful and beautiful and I adore you and always will; all the time I am not with you is not only time wasted, it is time spent in misery … You are the whole world for me and nothing else matters at all. How I wish I could see your darling blue eyes now …
Darling, you are everything in the world to me, and every moment away from you is dead to me.
Pam and Derek were married in London, at Carlton registry office, on 29 December 1936, while the British were still reeling over the abdication of Edward VIII. Pam was ‘laden with jewels which her generous husband had showered upon her’ but in their wedding photograph all the women appear to be wearing black. This, however, was a trend for smart occasions in those days because London in winter was often beset by filthy smog – a mixture of smoke (before the introduction of smokeless fuel) and fog – which made light colours look grubby within minutes. No one is smiling, though this may be because it was not the fashion at that time to smile for formal photographs. With hindsight, this somewhat funereal picture might be said to be prophetic, for within hours of it being taken Derek’s twin brother Vivian, who mysteriously was not at the wedding, was killed in a sleigh accident in Switzerland, an event which scarred Derek’s life forever.
Pam and Derek settled down (if this mercurial man could ever be said to settle anywhere) at Rignell, a former hunting lodge with distant views over the Heythrop country. Diana had once described the house as hideous and the interior decor became something of a laughing stock among the Mitford family. Derek’s taste was for Heal’s furniture and bright contrasting colours. The main bedroom had pink walls and green furniture which he said were the colours of apple trees in spring. He had taken great trouble to reproduce the exact colours and Pam must have liked them because she kept one of the green chests of drawers in her bedroom all her life. When Pam and Derek moved to Tullamaine Castle in County Tipperary after the war, Pam set about redecorating the rooms. Lady Redesdale was the first of the family to visit her there and was later asked what it was like by one of the other sisters. ‘I’m not going to say,’ was her tactful reply.
One of the things which bound this very different couple together was their love of horses and dogs. Their particular passion was for long-haired dachshunds which were probably a substitute for the children Pam never had. Derek did not want children and made his views on the matter clear, but even so, Pam underwent gynaecological surgery in 1937. Clearly this was not successful because although she became pregnant at least twice, she never carried a child to full term. Meanwhile, they acquired Wuda, their first long-haired dachshund who later presented them with puppies, which were called Hamelin and Weser from the story of the Pied Piper. They were the first of a succession of dachshunds, the last of which died many years later just before Pam returned from Switzerland to live in England. Early in the marriage a trip to Paris was cancelled when Pam and Derek, on their way to the boat train, realised that they had left their tickets behind. When they drove back to Rignell to get them, Wuda jumped into
Pam moved into Rignell Hall with Derek in the autumn of 1936, anticipating his forthcoming divorce from Poppet John by a few months, and it was from here that they drove to High Wycombe, where the Redesdale family was now living, to announce their engagement. Fifteen-year-old Deborah, who had met Derek on the hunting field and imagined herself in love with him, fainted on hearing the news.
Derek was madly in love with Pam, as his letters during their courtship show beyond doubt. This one was written early in 1936 while she was motoring in Austria:
Darling, you are so wonderful and beautiful and I adore you and always will; all the time I am not with you is not only time wasted, it is time spent in misery … You are the whole world for me and nothing else matters at all. How I wish I could see your darling blue eyes now …
Darling, you are everything in the world to me, and every moment away from you is dead to me.
Pam and Derek were married in London, at Carlton registry office, on 29 December 1936, while the British were still reeling over the abdication of Edward VIII. Pam was ‘laden with jewels which her generous husband had showered upon her’ but in their wedding photograph all the women appear to be wearing black. This, however, was a trend for smart occasions in those days because London in winter was often beset by filthy smog – a mixture of smoke (before the introduction of smokeless fuel) and fog – which made light colours look grubby within minutes. No one is smiling, though this may be because it was not the fashion at that time to smile for formal photographs. With hindsight, this somewhat funereal picture might be said to be prophetic, for within hours of it being taken Derek’s twin brother Vivian, who mysteriously was not at the wedding, was killed in a sleigh accident in Switzerland, an event which scarred Derek’s life forever.
Pam and Derek settled down (if this mercurial man could ever be said to settle anywhere) at Rignell, a former hunting lodge with distant views over the Heythrop country. Diana had once described the house as hideous and the interior decor became something of a laughing stock among the Mitford family. Derek’s taste was for Heal’s furniture and bright contrasting colours. The main bedroom had pink walls and green furniture which he said were the colours of apple trees in spring. He had taken great trouble to reproduce the exact colours and Pam must have liked them because she kept one of the green chests of drawers in her bedroom all her life. When Pam and Derek moved to Tullamaine Castle in County Tipperary after the war, Pam set about redecorating the rooms. Lady Redesdale was the first of the family to visit her there and was later asked what it was like by one of the other sisters. ‘I’m not going to say,’ was her tactful reply.
One of the things which bound this very different couple together was their love of horses and dogs. Their particular passion was for long-haired dachshunds which were probably a substitute for the children Pam never had. Derek did not want children and made his views on the matter clear, but even so, Pam underwent gynaecological surgery in 1937. Clearly this was not successful because although she became pregnant at least twice, she never carried a child to full term. Meanwhile, they acquired Wuda, their first long-haired dachshund who later presented them with puppies, which were called Hamelin and Weser from the story of the Pied Piper. They were the first of a succession of dachshunds, the last of which died many years later just before Pam returned from Switzerland to live in England. Early in the marriage a trip to Paris was cancelled when Pam and Derek, on their way to the boat train, realised that they had left their tickets behind. When they drove back to Rignell to get them, Wuda jumped into
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