1 OF 3 
Gwendolen Jane (née Griffith), Lady Brade
1 of 3 portraits of Gwendolen Jane (née Griffith), Lady Brade
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Share this
Gwendolen Jane (née Griffith), Lady Brade
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 21 February 1918
Given by Bassano & Vandyk Studios, 1974
Photographs Collection
NPG x105620
Sitterback to top
- Gwendolen Jane (née Griffith), Lady Brade (died circa 1952), Wife of Sir Reginald Brade; daughter of Joshua Griffith. Sitter in 3 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Bassano Ltd (active 1901-1962), Photographers. Artist or producer associated with 42746 portraits.
Placesback to top
- Place made: United Kingdom: England, London (photographer's studio, 25 Old Bond Street , London)
Events of 1918back to top
Current affairs
Despite the suspension of the Suffrage movement during the war, the Government finally agrees to grant women the right to vote as recognition of their vital role in the war effort. However, The Representation of the People Act only extended the franchise to female householders and university graduates over 30. Equal rights to men were not granted until 1928.Art and science
War Poet, Wilfred Owen, is killed in action just a week before the end of the war. His poems, including Dulce et Decorum Est and Anthem for Doomed Youth, tell of the horror of war in the trenches and the tragic loss of a generation of young men who enthusiastically signed up to fight in a war that became seen as futile rather than glorious.International
British representative, Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss, signs the Armistice calling a ceasefire on the 11th November 1918 and ending the war. Germany and Austria loose their empires and become republics. Around the same time a global flu pandemic brakes out - known in England as Spanish Flu - killing 50-100 million people within a year compared to 15 million fatalities from the four years of war.Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.
roger toft
13 May 2016, 13:18
Gwendolen Brade née Griffith was my great-aunt. The Griffith family, I believe, came from Swansea and claimed to descend from one of the native Welsh princes named Gruffydd. With what justification, I do not know Her father Joshua owned coal mines and his wealth allowed him to bring up his daughters as ladies. But his cashier vanished to Australia with £ 56,000 of the company assets, and it went bankrupt. One daughter Anne took to playing the piano to earn her living, : she became the mother of the famous 1920s music-hall star Mona Vivian ( see Internet ). Gwendolen took up nursing. She fell in love with one of the wounded and he with her. His name was Reginald Herbert Brade. He became ( see Internet ) Under-Secretary of State for War and was very friendly with Beaverbrook. He became a KGCB and enjoyed cordial relations with George V, as Gwendolen started presenting debutantes at court. I have a photo of her with ostrich plumes in her hair and a long train. At that time, they lived along Park Lane towards the Piccadilly end of it. They lived, so I guess, at a somewhat higher level than their means, as ''Uncle Reggie'' was counting on writing his memoirs to keep afloat. But he died in 1936, before finishing them. The couple had no children, simply an adopted daughter who eloped with someone judged unsuitable - and she vanished. Gwendolen was left in straightened circumstances. In 1947 I saw her on just one occasion : being only 7, I do not recall much about it; She was living in London, with another woman who looked after her. She died in the early 1950s, I think. I do know other stories about her, but of an anecdotall sort which will not probably interest you. But if you want to hear all I can tell, let me know.
roger toft
20 May 2016, 12:07
Well, my father went to see Lady Brade when he was 7. This would make it in 1914. She lived on Park Lane and summoned a taxi. My father tried to leap inside, but Lady Brade hauled him back by his collar. Ladies first ! So the 7 dogs she had on a leash got in the taxi first . Her sister Edith never married. She was ''supported'' by Lady Brade for years, till the latter reached reduced circumanstances Then her sister Edith claimed her maternal nephew- my father - did likewise. She abruptly entered my family's life in 1951 and not only asked my father to assure her upkeep but insisted he supplied Layd Brade with the means to buy whisky ! Edith was imperious, argumentative, and my father - with limited means - had no desire to have any relative like that in the house, with his handicapped sister and his mother-in-law alteady there; Edith was put in a lovely home, view over the sea, and fell down its stairs aged 88 which killed her I am only sorry I did not listen to her stories more. The memories of someone 70 ye&rs older do not matter at the age I was