From showgirl to saviour of the Spitfire - the life of philanthropist Lady Houston

Fanny Lucy Radmill was born in Kennington, South London, in 1857.

At 16, she was a chorus girl known as Poppy when she became involved with the extremely wealthy Frederick “Freddy” Gretton and they were together for ten years.

Although not married when Freddy died in 1882 he bequeathed her £6,000 a year for life, approximately £800,000 today.

Now financially secure, she married the wealthy Theodore Frances Brinckman, the eldest son of a baronet in 1883 but the couple divorced in 1895.

Lucy was then married to George Frederick William Byron, 9th Baron Byron of Rochdale in 1901.

During the First World War, Lucy opened Bluebird’s Nest rest home for nurses who had served on the Western Front.

Lucy also sent 100,000 boxes of matches to troops in France after hearing soldiers at the front had cigarettes but no matches.

She also sent 1,100 brown woollen pullovers to the 9th Battalion of the Bluffs, each accompanied by a card reading: “a warm greeting from Lady Byron.”

In 1917, Lucy was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her creation of Bluebirds’ Nest.

After Byron’s death in 1917, she was a guest on the yacht of tea and grocery magnate Sir Thomas Lipton when she met Sir Robert Houston, a wealthy shipping owner and Member of Parliament for West Toxteth.

The two were married in December 1924 and they settled in Jersey to avoid paying taxes.

However, Sir Robert Houston passed away in 1926 leaving Lady Lucy £5.5 million of his £7 million fortune. Lucy was now England’s second wealthiest woman and was ready to make a difference with her money.

As Sir Robert Houston, declared in his will, Lucy had wonderful insights especially when it came to politics.

The highly patriotic Lady Lucy believed that the next European conflict would be either won or lost in the air.

In 1929, Lucy had followed in the press the tale of the Schneider Trophy competition, a biennial international airspeed race for seaplanes and flying boats, that Britain had won for the second time that year.

Britain was due to host the next competition in 1931, and if they won, they could keep the Schneider Trophy for good.

By early 1931 the British government felt that in the midst of the Great Depression, the expenditure on this competition could not be justified and vetoed any Royal Air Force involvement or Government funding in sporting events.

The Marshal of the Royal Air Force, was Sir Hugh Trenchard, who could see “nothing of value” in the development of high-speed aircraft.

Hearing this Lady Lucy took it upon herself to ensure Britain was successful in this competition declaring that, “every true Briton would rather sell his last shirt than admit that England could not afford to defend herself.”

She paid £100,000 to the government via the Royal Aero Club to ensure British participation in the race.

With Lady Lucy’s financial backing, Rolls Royce developed a new engine, and R.J. Mitchell and his team were able to design the winning Supermarine S6.B aircraft which won the 1931 Schneider Trophy held off Calshot Spit.

Winning for the third time, with an average speed of 340 mph, the UK permanently holds the trophy which is kept at the Science Museum, London.

Without Lady Houston’s funding, RJ Mitchell’s Supermarine design team would not have gained valuable experience in producing what would later become the Spitfire fighter.

The first test flight of the Spitfire took place from Eastleigh airfield on March 6, 1936.

Unfortunately, Lady Lucy never saw the Spitfire defend the skies in World War 2 as she died on December 29, 1936.

Martin Brisland is a tour guide with SeeSouthampton.co.uk .