| AdminHistory | Winifred Fortescue [1888-1951] was an author and actress. Beginning her training in 1905, she toured Britain and Ireland as an performer until 1914 when she married the king's librarian and archivist at Windsor, John William Fortescue, who went on to write the introduction to Henry Williamson's 'Tarka the Otter'. During the First World War, she worked with wounded servicemen and soldier in Windsor and London, before going on to set up a clothing company, Cintra, in 1921. Fortescue sold the company in 1925 and began to write, publishing in several London papers and Punch magazine. Her husband was knighted in 1926, formally styling her as Lady Fortescue. The couple relocated to Provence for Sir John's health, but after his death in 1933 Winifred Fortescue remained in France, making her experiences the subject of her published works 'Perfume from Provence' and 'Sunset House'. She relocated to England during the Second World War, but returned again to France in 1945, engaging in charistmas charity work with children which earned her the nickname 'Maman Noel'. |