Home Kidston

Lieutenant-Commander Home Ronald Archibald Kidston (11 March 1910 – January 1996) was a Royal Navy officer, farmer and racing driver.

Home Ronald Archibald Kidston

Home Kidston
Born
Home Ronald Archibald Kidston

(1910-03-11)11 March 1910
Cadogan Square, London, England
DiedJanuary 1996 (aged 85–86)
NationalityBritish
EducationEton
OccupationRoyal navy officer, farmer and racing driver
TitleLieutenant-Commander
Spouse(s)Lady Georgiana Mary Curzon
Eleanor Keith
Erica Lanz
Children3, including Simon Kidston
Parent(s)Archibald Glen Kidston, Hélène Adeline Blanche Chapman
RelativesGlen Kidston (brother)
Bugatti Type 37A
Mercedes Benz 300SL gull-wing coupe
Lockheed Vega

Early life

Kidston was born on the 11th of March 1910 in Cadogan Square, London, the son of Captain Archibald Glen Kidston and Hélène Adeline Blanche Chapman.[1][2] His older brother was Glen Kidston, the record-breaking aviator and motor racing driver.[1][3]

He was educated at Eton.[4]

Career

Royal Navy

Kidston joined the Royal Navy, being promoted from acting sub-lieutenant to sub-lieutenant on 1 January 1932,[5] and to lieutenant on 1 July 1934.[6]

During the Second World War, he commanded the motor anti-submarine boat MA/SB.6, as part of the 2nd Motor Anti-Submarine Boat Flotilla, based at Portland in 1940.[7][8] He then served as Anti-Submarine Officer aboard HMS Kelly, under Lord Mountbatten, from February 1941 until her sinking off Crete on 23 May 1941.[9] Kidston was promoted to lieutenant-commander on 1 July 1942,[10] and later commanded his own destroyer,[4] HMS Escapade from October 1944 until December 1945.[7] He retired from the Navy on 21 January 1947.[11]

Farmer

In 1947, Kidston retired to farm his estate at Southover House, Tolpuddle, Dorset. In 1976, he moved to Italy to grow olives and wine at Il Gallinaio, near Siena.[4][12]

Cars

Aged 14, he acquired a Morgan three-wheeler, and while a student at Eton, a Type 37A Bugatti.[4] After he joined the Royal Navy, he bought an MG K3 and a Bentley 4½. He was later posted to New Zealand, and "raised eyebrows" when he arrived with his de Havilland DH.60 Moth aircraft, Vosper racing speedboat and a Mercedes-Benz S.[4] His on-road speeding antics earned him much coverage in the New Zealand press and various far-flung court appearances which his aircraft proved useful for attending. After he returned to England, he raced a Type 51 Bugatti[13] and the ex-Howe Alfa Romeo 2.3 Le Mans car, and entering several Frazer Nash BMWs in Alpine trials. His later road cars included a Bugatti 57C, a Lancia Aurelia B20 GT, a Mercedes-Benz 300SL and a Porsche Carrera 2.7RS.[4] Kidston ordered his Type 57C from the Bugatti showroom in Nice in 1938 while on shore leave, and it was delivered to England the following year. He sold it in 1955.[14] Kidston was one of the first in the UK to purchase a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing coupé, in April 1955.[15]

Aircraft

Also a keen pilot, Kidston owned a de Havilland DH.60M Moth G-AAXG (c/n 1542) which was built in 1930 for de Havilland company chairman Alan S. Butler, who flew it in the 1930 King's Cup Air Race and finished second, as well as won the prize for the highest speed achieved at 129.7 miles per hour (208.7 km/h).[16] Kidston shipped the Moth to New Zealand in 1933, selling it there in 1935.[17][18][19]

In June 1934 Kidston registered his brother's Lockheed Vega (G-ABGK) to take part in the MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia.[20] However, it was an Australian, Jimmie Woods, who actually flew the aircraft in the race,[21] which overturned on landing at Aleppo, and was forced to withdraw.

In 1936 he bought the DH.85 Leopard Moth G-AEFR (c/n 7125), based at Brooklands.[22] Kidston continued to fly into his 70s.

Boats

In 1959 Kidston acquired a 46-foot-2-inch (14.07 m) John G. Alden-designed motor yacht (Design No. 916) which he named Pasadena, built for him by R. & W. Clark Ltd. of East Cowes.[23]

Personal life

His first wife was Lady Georgiana Mary Curzon, the daughter of Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe and Mary Curzon, Lady Howe. They had one son, Glen Kidston (b. 1937), and divorced in 1943.[24] His second wife was American heiress Eleanor Keith. He later married Erica Lanz and had two children, Simon Kidston (b. 1967), the classic car dealer, and Nicholas Kidston (b. 1969), who died in a motorcycle accident in 2011.[1][2] Kidston had 3 grandchildren, Cassius Kidston and Constance Kidston (Simon Kidston) and Sofia Kidston (Nicholas Kidston).

References
  1. "Kidston, Home – In Memoriam Announcements". The Daily Telegraph. 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. "Person Page". The Peerage. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  3. "Simon Kidston – Founder". Kidston SA. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  4. "Lt. Cdr. Home Kidston". Motor Sport (March 1996): 74. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  5. "No. 33927". The London Gazette. 4 April 1933. p. 2285.
  6. "No. 34068". The London Gazette. 10 July 1934. p. 4433.
  7. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Allied Warship Commanders: Home, Ronald Archibald Kidston, RN". Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  8. Kindell, Don. "British and Other Navies in World War 2: Royal Navy Ships, June 1940". Naval History.net. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  9. Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen. "HMS Kelly (F.01)". WWII Unit Histories & Officers. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  10. "No. 35632". The London Gazette. 14 July 1942. p. 3104.
  11. "No. 37897". The London Gazette. 4 March 1947. p. 1050.
  12. "Kidston (née Lanz) Erica – Deaths Announcements". The Daily Telegraph. 2006. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  13. "Photograph of H.R.A. Kidston and his Bugatti Type 51 at the Poole Speed Trials in July 1939". Bugatti Trust Photo Archive. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  14. "Royal Show at the Edinburgh Concours". VeloceToday. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  15. "300SL". Crittenden Automotive Library. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  16. "King's Cup Air Race Prizes". Flight. XXII (1126): 852. 23 July 1930. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  17. "Aircraft in NZ pre. WWII". Wings Over New Zealand. 20 November 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  18. "de Havilland DH60M Moth G-AAXG". AirTeamImages.com. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  19. "Civil Aircraft Register – Great Britain : G-AA". Golden Years of Aviation. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  20. "England-Australia Race: Entries from Thirteen Countries". Flight. XXVI (1328): 557. 7 June 1934. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  21. "Pilots in the England-Australia Air Race". Flight. XXVI (1347): 1079. 18 October 1934. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  22. Mace, Terry. "Aircraft Register GB : G-AE". A Fleeting Peace: Golden Age Aviation in the British Empire. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  23. "Alden Design database: No. 916 "Pasadena"". Hart Nautical Collection, MIT Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  24. "Earl Howe Again in Divorce Court". The Telegraph. Brisbane, Queensland. 31 July 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
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