Tom Mitford

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The Honourable
Tom Mitford
Thomas David Freeman-Mitford.jpg
Personal details
Born
Thomas David Freeman-Mitford

(1909-01-02)2 January 1909
England
Died30 March 1945(1945-03-30) (aged 36)
Sagaing, British Burma
Cause of deathDied of wounds
Resting placeTaukkyan War Cemetery
Parent(s)The 2nd Baron Redesdale
Sydney Bowles
RelativesNancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, & Deborah Mitford
EducationLockers Park School and Eton College
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/serviceDevonshire Regiment
RankMajor[1]
Battles/warsSecond World War

Major Thomas David Freeman-Mitford (2 January 1909 – 30 March 1945) was the only son of the 2nd Baron Redesdale and brother of the Mitford Sisters. Tom Mitford was killed in action during the Second World War.

Early life[]

The Mitford family in 1928

Mitford was born on 2 January 1909, the only son of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale. He attended Eton College. He had relationships with several students there, among whom were Jim Lees-Milne and The Hon. Hamish St. Clair-Erskine (later engaged to his sister Nancy).[2][3]

In the late 1920s, Mitford studied law in Berlin and it was at that time that he displayed a favour for the Nazi Party.[2]

Military service and death[]

While serving, at first Mitford chose to serve in Italy and North Africa, and then in Burma, since he did not want to fight against Germany.[4]

Mitford was killed on 30 March 1945 in Burma, while serving with the Devonshire Regiment. He is buried at Taukkyan War Cemetery.[1] His sister Diana, Lady Mosley, wrote: "his loss was something from which I never recovered for the rest of my life". His father, Lord Redesdale, erected a memorial tablet inside St Mary's Church, Swinbrook, near their ancestral home, Swinbrook House.[2] The 2nd Baron Redesdale, Lady Mosley, Nancy Mitford, and Unity Mitford are buried in the churchyard, while Pamela Mitford is buried in the northwest of the tower.[5] Another tablet to the memory of Tom Mitford is inside Holy Trinity Church, Horsley, just south of Rochester, Northumberland, near their estate in Northumberland.[6] This hamlet of Horsley should not be confused with the village of Horsley, Northumberland, overlooking the Tyne valley, some twenty miles to the south.

Personal life[]

In July 1929, Mitford took part in the "Bruno Hat" art hoax. He took the role of the imaginary reclusive artist, Bruno Hat; other Bright Young Things involved were Brian Howard, Evelyn Waugh, Bryan Guinness, and John Banting.[7]

In the summer of 1930, Mitford met Sheilah Graham, who would later describe him in her memoirs, Beloved Infidel, as "a youthful edition of his father and, at twenty-one, one of the handsomest men I had ever seen".[8]

In the 1930s, he was a lover of Austrian-born dancer Tilly Losch, while she was married to art patron Edward James.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "MajorFREEMAN-MITFORD, The Hon. THOMAS DAVID". Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Seymour, Miranda (2013). Noble Endeavours: The life of two countries, England and Germany, in many stories. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781847378262. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  3. ^ Cooper, Michelle (9 May 2013). "Meet The Mitfords". Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  4. ^ Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford. Alfred A. Knopf. 2006. ISBN 9780375410321. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  5. ^ Pearson, Lynn F. (2004). Discovering Famous Graves. Shire Publications. p. 93. ASIN 0747806195.
  6. ^ "The Mitford Men". 7 October 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. ^ Lovell, Mary S. (2011). The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 111. ISBN 9780393076103. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  8. ^ Lovell, Mary S. (2011). The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 114. ISBN 9780393076103. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  9. ^ Lovell, Mary S. (2008). The Mitford Girls: The Biography of an Extraordinary Family. Hachette UK. p. 107. ISBN 9780748109210. Retrieved 22 September 2017.

External links[]

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