Gladys Harington

Gladys Harington, nee Grattan, was born on 1st February 1885 to O’Donnel Colley Grattan and his wife Helen Randal Trench. O’Donnel Grattan was a career soldier with the 8th Foot (Kings Liverpool Regiment) who rose through the ranks to become Brigadier General, serving in the East Indies (twice) and Afghanistan before taking part in the Boer War where he received the Distinguished Service Order in 1900. Gladys’ mother, Helen Randal Trench was the daughter of Major General Henry Luke Le Poer Trench of the Bengal Staff Corps so it is likely that Army life was firmly embedded in Gladys’ psyche!

Gladys was born in Dublin, but by the 1891 census was living with her parents and sister in Liverpool. This is likely due to O’Donnel Grattan’s promotion to Adjutant (Volunteer Service Gazette and Military Dispatch, 10th January 1891). By 1901, the family were back in Ireland, living in the garrison town of Fermoy.

Gladys married Charles Harington at Limerick Cathedral at the start of 1904. Like her father, Charles Harington had also received a DSO during the Boer War. Harington had served under Grattan and it is likely that this is how Gladys and Charles met. In 1903, Harington was promoted to Commanding Officer of Gentleman Cadets at Sandhurst, before being posted to Aldershot as Brigade Major to the 6th Brigade in 1911. Perhaps inevitably, the work of her husband would determine the course that Gladys’ life took. Harington was very highly thought of, and as a result received regular promotions. He finished the war as Major General, General Staff – in effect the Chief of Staff to General Plumer at Second Army HQ – and his life is chronicled in many places (not least on Wikipedia Charles Harington (British Army officer, born 1872) - Wikipedia !) and his work took Charles and Gladys to many places around the world. The challenge in researching Gladys was to be in separating her from firstly her father and then from her husband and telling her story, not theirs.

From reading newspaper articles it was possible to get a picture of Gladys. For example, it transpires that Gladys was an “exceptionally keen horsewoman” (Daily Mirror, 16th October 1933). She was regularly associated with hunts and point to points, and was made the first woman Master of the Royal Calpe Hunt (Daily Mirror 17th March 1934). There is a photo of Gladys in the National Portrait Gallery astride a horse: NPG x150147; Gladys Norah (née Grattan), Lady Harington - Portrait - National Portrait Gallery. Gladys also had musical talents too – whilst in Quetta, she formed Lady Harrington’s Band (Paddy’s Own) and was the lead banjo player (and the eponymous Paddy). The band played for many of Quetta’s social events including the Hunt Ball and other dances (The Tatler 16th May 1928). Her love for the outside was also well known, including a fondness for caravan holidays in their converted tramcar. In fact whilst Government House, Farnborough (during a posting at Aldershot) was being refurbished, Gladys and Charles moved into their converted tramcar rather than finding another house or hotel to be put up in (The Bystander, 16th September 1931).

When Charles died in 1940, one obituary also made reference to the character of Gladys, describing her as “unconventional”, “eccentric” and able to put people at ease due to her “cordial ways”. She remained close to her family; in later life Gladys’ mother, Helen Grattan, lived with her in Tarn Cottage, The Maultway, Woking. Next door to them were Aileen and Francis Bedwell – Gladys’ sister and brother in law.

On 8th February 1973, Gladys passed away at her home, Dawn Cottage, Guildford Road, Bagshot.