Our speaker at the July meeting was Roy Smart, who gave us a rip-roaring talk about “The Last Naval Hero”, David 2nd Earl Beatty, hero of the WWI and the darling of the nation. Blessed with the Nelson touch, this matinee idol had a darker side to his character and was something of a bounder. We heard about Beatty’s astonishing climb to fame and fortune and his involvement in the Battle of Jutland leading to the death of over 3,000 British sailors but the surrender of the German fleet. He became immensely rich and had a Downton Abbey life style with his hedonistic, American, socialite wife, Ethel, Countess Beatty, which was marred by marital strife and scandal. Roy posed the question to us , “Was Beatty a bounder or a cad?” Answer: Probably both!
