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Winged Ecstasy
2010-02-10 13:20
Rolls Royces are easily distinguished the world over by the famous 'Spirit of Ecstasy' mascot, the work of sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes. But who was his beautiful subject?
Eleanor Velasco Thornton, or 'Thorn' as she was affectionately known, was the London-born daughter of a Spanish mother and an Australian engineer. Thorn left school at 16 and went to work at the Automobile Club (now the RAC). It was here that she was introduced to John Scott Montagu, a pioneer of the automobile movement, and editor of The Car magazine from 1902, and instantly fell in love.
Montagu was a charismatic figure, educated at Eton and Oxford, with a great interest in travel and transport. MP for the New Forest Division of Hampshire, he was a great car enthusiast, coming third in the Paris-Ostend road race in 1899 and credited with introducing King Edward VII to the joys of motoring.
Eventually Montagu inherited the title of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu (pronounced Bewley), the house in Hampshire which is now home to the National Motor Museum.
For a time their love affair remained hidden from the public, as Eleanor's impoverished social and economic status presented an obstacle to their continuing relationship. To paraphrase Fitzgerald, 'Rich boys don't marry poor girls'. Eventually succumbing to family pressure, Montagu married Lady Cecil Victoria Constance, but the affair continued and Eleanor bore him a child. Extraordinarily, it seems Lady Montagu condoned their relationship and even befriended Eleanor.
On 30 December 1915, accompanying Montagu on a voyage to India on the SS Persia, Thorn's ship was torpedoed off Crete by a German submarine, the first passenger ship to meet such a fate. Lord Montagu survived by clinging to an upturned life boat for 36 hours, but Eleanor went down with the ship. Her body was never recovered, but her memory lives on on the famous emblem.
Next year Sir Richard Attenborough, veteran film director of Gandhi and Shadowlands (which deals with the tragic death of C.S. Lewis's wife Joy), is set to bring out a new film 'Silver Ghost' based on this story, starring actor Christian Bale. Until it hits the big screen, you'll have to content yourself by admiring her portrait in miniature.
Alex Went and Jilly Bennett