Roland Gwynne

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Lt. Col. Sir Roland Gwynne, DSO, (?? ?? 1882 - 15 November 1971) was Mayor of Eastbourne, England, from 1929 to 1931. He was also a patient, close friend and probable lover^[1] of the suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams.

Contents 1 Childhood 2 Career 3 John Bodkin Adams 4 Sources

[edit] Childhood

Roland's mother, May, was 41 when he was born. He was the last of nine children (though two had died). Until the age of 13, he was dressed by his mother as a girl in frocks, with bows, necklaces and long ringlets.

[edit] Career

Though considered by his family a "dunderhead", he studied at Cambridge and became a Judge's Marshall. His brother Rupert Gwynne became Member of Parliament for Eastbourne in 1910 and married Stella Ridley, daughter of the first Viscount Ridley. Their daughter Elizabeth, became Elizabeth David CBE, the celebrated cook.

The First World War broke out when Gwynne was 32. He enrolled in the Sussex Yeomanry but was sent a white feather by a "friend of the family".^[2] In September 1916 he voluntered for active service and won the DSO in Flanders in 1917, much to the surprise of his family. He was wounded twice, leaving him with a permanent limp.

In 1922 his mother died, leaving most of her money to Roland due to a family disagreement. That same year, Gwynne put his name forward as a Conservative candidate for Lewes, East Sussex, but withdrew it when his brother Neville hinted to the selection committee that Roland was a homosexual. John Bodkin Adams arrived in Eastbourne that same year.

Rupert died in 1924, just after being reelected to Parliament. Roland inherited his estate but, however, settled for local politics, becoming Mayor of Eastbourne in 1929.

He constantly had financial problems, caused on the one hand by his extravagant lifestyle (he was famous for the wild parties he held at Folkington Manor, attended by, among others, Freeman Freeman-Thomas, Viceroy of India and Rudyard Kipling) and on the other, by his sexuality, which made him a prime target for blackmail. Indeed, his butler Wilde was known by those close to him to be one such person extorting money from him.^[3] After Roland's death, love letters from various local jockeys were found among his papers.^[4]

During the Second World War he took to drink.

[edit] John Bodkin Adams

Roland never married but established a close friendship with Adams, a general practitioner, with whom he went on frequent shooting holidays to Scotland and Ireland.

In 1956 Adams was arrested on suspicion of murdering two of his patients. Roland was Chairman of the Magistrates and had to step down for the committal hearing due to a conflict of interests. In 1957 he was knighted and Adams' trial began, though he was eventually acquitted of one charge and the other withdrawn controversially. Roland cooled his relationship with Adams and even admitted to police when interviewed in connection with the investigation into Adams, that he had given instructions to be buried in a lead-lined coffin. This unusual procedure was usually designed to protect the water table from contamination or to preserve evidence in case an exhumation might ever be necessary.

During Adams' committal hearing proceedings, Gwynne crashed his car while driving home. He had not been drinking.

Roland fell into depression and in 1963 had a stroke. He was made a ward of the Court of Protection in 1965, which prevented him from controlling his own money and possessions.

He died on 15 November 1971 in a nursing home aged 89. His death certificate was signed by Dr. Adams.

[edit] Sources

• Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9