I AM A NURSE! MY PLACE IS AT MY HUSBAND'S SIDE : ALMINA, COUNTESS OF CARNARVON
At 4.20pm on a cold but clear Monday afternoon in the middle of March of 1923, the small, yet sprightly figure of Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon boarded an aeroplane chartered from the Daimler Hire Company at a cost of £350 for the 3,500 miles journey from the London [ Croydon] Air Station to Cairo in Egypt. The air machine was a special three-seater De Havilland bi- plane.
Almina’s heroic mercy flight to Egypt on the 19th March 1923 was in order for her to be at Lord Carnarvon’s bedside. The stricken Earl lay unconscious in the fashionable Continental Hotel in Cairo suffering from the advanced stages of terminal throat cancer.
THE MYSTERY SPECIALIST
Accompanying Almina on her epic 3500 mile journey were two men, Captain Frank L Barnard, an experienced air pilot, and a mystery man usually unnamed or variously described as a “medical specialist” or a “ Harley-street specialist”, he was Dr George C Sneyd FRCS IREL, who had been the chief surgeon at Almina's war time hospital in London's Bryanston Square.
ENOUGH DRUGS PACKED TO TREAT A HOSPITAL
There was no scrutiny made or customs checks performed on the contents of Dr Sneyd’s luggage, or the identity of a number of small containers which were carried with a collection of medical instruments and drugs quickly collected from the surgeon’s consulting rooms at 55a Welbeck Street, London W1. Almina’s own possessions were not inspected either, she carried a horde of surplus medicines from her wartime hospital that could be accessed. The Countess was prepared to assist Sneyd beyond nursing care, including surgery if required, and packed her nurse’s whites and the dainty little white shoes she always wore for theatre operations.
Before the ( international) Reuters leak ( by Valentine Williams) in Cairo of Carnarvon being struck down, the news of the Earl's health scare had stirred a flurry of eager reporters into hanging about 1, Seamore Place, Almina’s palatial home in Mayfair, she had inherited from Alfred de Rothschild.
Almina announced “ I am a nurse myself and my place is at my husband’s side. I’m going on by air today”.
In the years following the running of nursing homes and hospitals Almina stored a great many different kinds of medicines, items used in medical procedures and surgical equipment, Tony Leadbetter- Almina's godson who lived with her for 30 years- well remembers these were kept in cupboards at Orchard Grove ( Almina’s home in Somerset from 1943-49) and were often dispensed.
One news report indicates that after the premature landing at Beauvais in France “the medical specialist” flew on from Le Bourget to Lyons to meet up with Almina and hence make an attempt at a new flight path to Egypt.
Almina later thanked Dr Sneyd for his help and supplying the drugs she needed with a holiday to Maderia in 1924. In later years Sneyd was a regular caller on Almina in Somerset, he became a GP in Bridgewater, a stone’s throw from ‘Orchard Grove’ Almina’s thatched cottage at the village of Bicknoller from 1943-1949.
After further struggles with the travel arrangements to Egypt Almina finally arrived In Cairo on 26th March 1923.
She found Lord Carnarvon exhausted unconscious, breathing badly, running a high temperature, incontinent, and 'talking in tongues'. He never regained consciousness again.
A uncompromising figure, Almina cleared everyone out of the rooms occupied by her husband's staff, expelling several doctors and nurses. She put herself in sole control of the dying patient at the Continental Hotel.
Almina was experienced in handling the terminally ill. Her duty was that of a hospital matron of many years standing to ease her charge into oblivion. This dedication ensured Lord Carnarvon had a peaceful end.
NOTES
[i] Captain F L Barnard (1896-1927). Franklyn (Frank) Leslie Barnard. Notable British Pilot and air racer. Killed in a flying accident at Filton Aeordrome, just north of Bristol. Barnard received the OBE for taking Sir Samuel Hoare by air to Egypt. Hoare was Air Minister in 1926 when the air route from Britain to India was first opened.
[ii] Croydon Aerodrome had been built around several aerodromes used for defence in the Great War. The Civil Aviation Board announced in May 1923 that Croydon would be expanded, the site was used until the later developments made at Northolt, Heathrow and Gatwick.
[iii] The plane left London at 4.30pm aiming for Paris, but because of the lateness in leaving (and Almina’s indisposition) they landed at Beauvais at 6.55pm. The plan was to go to Egypt via Rome, Brindisi and Athens then across the Mediterranean, in total 3500 miles.
CONTACT THE AUTHOR WILLIAM CROSS
williecross@aol.com
The above text is taken from a new book " Carnarvon, Carter and Tutankhamun Revisited : The hidden truths and doomed relationships"
William Cross, FSA Scot is the author of six books on the Carnarvons of Highclere Castle, including " The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon", the ONLY full length biography of Almina, 5th Countess of Carnarvon.
