Caroline Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford (formerly Lady Caroline Olein Geraldine Wyndham-Quin) (b. 1936) and Lady Melissa Brooke (formerly Lady Melissa Eva Wyndham-Quin) (b. 1935), Part 1

This initial section of the recording compiled with the Wyndham-Quin sisters, Caroline and Melissa, daughters of the 6th Earl of Dunraven Richard Wyndham-Quin and his American-born wife Lady Nancy (formerly Yuille), brings to the fore their memories of being brought to America with their brother Thady by their nanny at the outbreak of World War II. They left Ireland on the last liner to leave Galway at that time. The siblings were to live In America in the home of their aunt until 1942, when their mother visited and got permission from Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the American President, to travel back to Adare with her son. They arrived at nearby Foynes on a flying-boat. On their return from America after the war, the children lived with their parents at Kilgobbin House on the Dunraven Estate. The sisters recall their many governesses during their childhood, including Miss Hamilton, Miss Weld (the grandaunt of Irish racehorse trainer Dermot Weld), and Miss Carroll. They recall their prep school days at Heathfield in Ascot, and Caroline discusses her finishing schools in Switzerland and in Paris. Some less than comfortable trips across the Irish Sea on the Innisfallen are remembered. Richard Wyndham-Quin, the 5th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl lived with his wife Eva, Countess of Dunraven, at Adare Manor. She died in 1942 and the Earl continued to make his home there. The sisters’ aunt, Lady Olein, worked with the Red Cross in London during World War II. She did not marry and she was to live on the Dunraven Estate until her death. Horses and hunting were an abiding passion for the Wyndham-Quin sisters, and they recall the wonderful horses bred at Fort Union Stud on the Dunraven Estate, and their successful sales. Details are given about the transportation of the horses to England in those days. Caroline mentions her success in the only point-to-point race she entered in Waterford. Melissa remarks that she was Master of the Limerick Hounds for 26 seasons. Shooting parties hosted on the Estate by their brother, Thady Wyndham-Quin, 7th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, are fondly recalled. The worrying time when he contracted poliomyelitis in childhood, and the fact that its serious effects never hindered his ability to run the Estate, are discussed. The opening of Adare Manor to the public in the late 1960s is also recalled.