Dame Barbara Cartland ( 1 )

These were turbulent times for the family as Barbara, had now divorced her husband whose family confiscated his money and left Barbara and Raine, aged four, with a Marriage Settlement of '500 per annum. The divorce involved charges and countercharges of infidelity and Barbara Cartland would later marry one of the men Alexander McCorquodale accused her of dallying with, his cousin - Hugh Mc Corquodale.

At this time Barbara Cartland was writing for a weekly magazine and several newspapers but always under an assumed name so that no one knew who the writer was. Determined that her brother should stand for Kings Norton she wrote 10,000 words a day in order to pay for his Election Expenses. The house that her Grandfather had built was still in Kings Norton. Labour decided to field a well known politician. Barbara Cartland wrote and canvassed on behalf of her brother who finally won with a majority of nearly 6000. All the hard work and commitment had paid off.

Ronald and Anthony Cartland were both killed in the Second World War. At the entrance to Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire there is a Calvary erected to the memory of Barbara Cartland's Father, Mother and two Brothers. Cartland Road in Kings Norton is named after the family. Barbara Cartland went on to write a biography about Ronald which included his best political speeches. In 1936 Barbara Cartland married Hugh McCorquodale, an officer of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and who had received the Military Cross for Gallantry. The couple had two sons, Ian and Glen. Barbara Cartland speaks fondly about the family visits to Scotland.

" I travel all over the world. I am thrilled by the exotic beauty of the East and the vital virility of the West.

But as I turn for home, my heart is in the Highlands"

Barbara Cartland lived at Camfield Place, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The family still own the Estate which was originally settled on by a Knight in 1275. It once featured a Tudor Manor House which was pulled down by Beatrix Potter's Grandfather who rebuilt the house in 1867. Beatrix Potter wrote that Camfield was the place that she loved best and where she wrote "The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The estate features an Oak Tree, planted by H.M. Queen Elizabeth in 1550 whilst she was imprisoned at Hatfield.

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