Grace Marguerite Hay Drummond-Hay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lady Hay Drummond-Hay
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Grace Marguerite Lethbridge
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| Born | 12 September 1895 Liverpool, England, UK
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| Died | 12 February 1946 (aged 50) Manhattan, New York, US
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| Occupation | Journalist |
| Spouse(s) | Sir Robert Hay Drummond-Hay (1920–1925; his death) |
Grace Marguerite, Lady Hay Drummond-Hay (born Grace Lethbridge; September 12, 1895 – February 12, 1946) was a brave British journalist. She became the first woman to travel all the way around the world by air. She did this amazing journey in a giant airship called a zeppelin. Even though she wasn't a pilot, she made flying exciting for many people. She wrote popular articles about her adventures in the sky for American newspapers in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Contents
Early Life of Grace Drummond-Hay
Grace Lethbridge was the oldest daughter of Sidney Thomas Lethbridge and Grace Emily. Her father was in charge of a company that made food for dogs and other animals. In 1920, when she was 25, she married Sir Robert Hay Drummond-Hay. He was much older than her.
Sir Robert was born in Tangier, Morocco. He had worked for many years as a British consul-general in Beirut, Lebanon. He had four children from a previous marriage. These children were all older than Grace. After six years of marriage, Sir Robert passed away. Lady Drummond-Hay was then 31 years old. She lived in her apartment in London as a young widow.
Lady Drummond-Hay's Journalism Career
Lady Drummond-Hay first wrote for British newspapers like The Sphere. Later, in the late 1920s, she started writing for Hearst papers in the United States. She wrote a series of articles for the Chicago Herald and Examiner. These articles were about her trip on the first transatlantic flight of a civilian passenger zeppelin in 1928.
This airship, the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, made history again in August 1929. It was the first airship to fly all the way around the world. The journey started and ended in Lakehurst, New Jersey. It took 21 days and included stops in Germany, Japan, and California. Captain Hugo Eckener was in charge of the Graf Zeppelin for this flight.
Lady Drummond-Hay was the only female passenger on this amazing journey. She traveled with 19 other people, including:
- Sir George Hubert Wilkins, an explorer from Australia.
- William B. Leeds, a very rich American.
- Commander Charles Emery Rosendahl from the US Navy.
- Karl von Wiegand, another reporter for Hearst.
- Robert Hartman, a photographer for Hearst.
When Lady Drummond-Hay arrived back in New York, she became very famous. Her career as a journalist was set for the next ten years.
She also reported from war zones, like Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). She was a foreign correspondent in Manchuria (China). She often worked closely with her senior colleague, Karl von Wiegand. Lady Drummond-Hay was known for her beauty, quick wit, and smart writing. The Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, gave her a special jewel. This jewel was displayed at her funeral.
Lady Drummond-Hay's Final Years
During World War II, Lady Drummond-Hay and Karl von Wiegand were held in a Japanese camp in the Philippines. They were set free in 1943. Lady Drummond-Hay was very sick, and Karl had trouble seeing after a bomb blast. They returned to the United States in December 1943 on a Swedish rescue ship called the SS Gripsholm.
Lady Drummond-Hay passed away from a coronary thrombosis (a type of heart attack) on February 12, 1946. Many people came to her funeral service, including famous media owner William Randolph Hearst. After she was cremated, her ashes were taken back to the United Kingdom by Karl von Wiegand.
Lady Drummond-Hay's Legacy
Even though Lady Drummond-Hay was well-known in the late 1920s and early 1930s, she has been mostly forgotten. Her name appears in some books about zeppelin flights. However, no major book or document has been written just about her life.
An Australian documentary called The Airships: Ship Of Dreams (2004) showed some old videos of her.
The Semidocumentary Farewell
Lady Drummond-Hay's 1929 journey was shown in a Dutch documentary episode called Vaarwel ("Farewell"). It was part of the series Het Uur van de Wolf ("The Hour of the Wolf"). This episode came out in 2009. It was directed by Ditteke Mensink. The film told her story using a mix of real footage and some acted parts, making it a semidocumentary.
The film used many old newsreel videos of her and the Graf Zeppelin's flight around the world. It showed how an airship worked in detail. The story was told mostly by reading parts of Lady Drummond-Hay's articles and diary. It also talked about her friendship with Karl von Wiegand.
Some parts of the film were made up. For example, the airship's tail fin did not rip during this flight. That happened during an earlier flight in 1928. Also, the airship did not have to land on water for repairs during the round-the-world trip.
The magazine Variety called the documentary "absorbing," meaning it was very interesting. Vaarwel was later shown in the UK on BBC Four on February 7, 2010. It was called Around The World by Zeppelin there.
Images for kids
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Grace Marguerite Lethbridge
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Journalists being photographed before a launch of the Graf Zeppelin, left to right: Karl von Wiegand, Lady Drummond-Hay, Rolf Brand, and Robert Hartmann
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Lady Drummond-Hay on board the Graf Zeppelin
See also
In Spanish: Grace Marguerite Hay Drummond-Hay para niños
