Vera Jane Siddons Beadon, formerly Jarvis and Whigham, (née Corby; 4 December 1913 – 30 June 1999) was a Scottish socialite, heiress, and actress. She was known as the leading witness in the internationally publicized 1963 divorce case between her stepdaughter and stepson-in-law, Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll and

Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th and 4th Duke of Argyll (18 June 1903 – 7 April 1973), was a Scottish peer and the Chief of Clan Campbell (). He is chiefly remembered for his unhappy marriage to, and scandalous 1963 divorce from, his third wife, ...

. Beadon, who was accused of having an affair with the Duke of Argyll by her stepdaughter, successfully sued the duchess for libel, slander, and conspiracy to suborn perjury. Beadon testified in court on behalf of the duke, presenting evidence supporting the duke's claim that the duchess had engaged in extramarital affairs. At the time of her death in 1999, she was the last surviving participant in the Argyll divorce case.

Biography

Beadon was born Vera Jane Siddons Corby in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

on 4 December 1913, the daughter of John Siddons Corby, who invented the Corby gentleman's trouser press. Her brother, Peter Corby, was a veteran of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and the inventor of the modern

trouser press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

. She was a descendant of the Welsh actress

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known Tragedy, tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder siste ...

and a relative of the

Kemble family Kemble is the name of a family of English actors, who reigned over the English stage for many decades. The most famous were Sarah Siddons (1755–1831) and her brother John Philip Kemble (1757–1823), the two eldest of the twelve children of ...

. In 1934 she married Edgar Jarvis, a master tailor, but the marriage ended in 1939. She had one daughter, Shirley Jarvis Hamilton, from this marriage. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she shared a flat in

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

with the actress

Phyllis Stanley Phyllis Stanley (30 October 1914 – 12 March 1992) was a British actress. Personal life During World War II, she shared a flat in West End of London with the Scottish heiress Jane Corby. Partial filmography * '' Leave It to Blanche'' (193 ...

. During this time, Beadon appeared in several films. She later moved to the United States to market her father's trouser press and, while there, had an affair with a married American Army colonel. In 1948, while seated at the captain's table aboard the , she was introduced to Scottish millionaire George Hay Whigham, the founder and chairman of the British Celanese Fibre Corporation. Whigham, the father of Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, was still married to his first wife, Helen Mann Hannay, when the two began an affair. Whigham was thirty-four years her senior, and his daughter was older than Beadon. On 31 October 1956, twenty months after the death of Whigham's wife, they married at

Caxton Hall Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily noted for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and a ...

in London. In December 1959 the Whigham's marriage reached a crisis point, when she was called to give evidence in proceedings to commit her stepdaughter to prison for breaching a

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff C ...

undertaking not to "impugn the legitimacy" of the duke's sons, Ian Campbell, Marquess of Lorne and Lord Colin Campbell. She appeared in public with a black eye, and claimed that her husband was responsible for the injury. She and Whigham were legally separated in 1960 and, when he died that same year, she was excluded from his will. She contested the will and won a dower right for life to one third of the income from his estate in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. Beadon was one of the leading witnesses in the highly publicized divorce case of her stepdaughter and

. She presented evidence in court against her stepdaughter on behalf of the duke. The duchess counter-petitioned the divorce, accusing Beadon of committing adultery with the duke. The duchess dropped her case the day of the hearing due to lack of a witness, and later had to pay a judgment of £25,000 to Beadon, who sued her for libel, slander, and conspiracy to suborn perjury. She was the last surviving figure of the divorce case. In February 1965, she married Wing Commander Clive Beadon, an officer in the Royal Air Force who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service as a bomber pilot in

. The ceremony took place at Carlton Hall in London. The couple honeymooned at her late husband's mansion in Cable Beach, Nassau. Commander Beadon died in 1996. On 30 June 1999, Beadon was found dead by a maid at her home in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. She had been in poor health, confined to a wheelchair due to

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

In popular culture

Beadon was portrayed by

Katherine Manners Katherine Manners is an English actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She is best known for her lead role as Vera Brittain in the 2008 BBC One television documentary '' A Woman in Love and War: Vera Brittain'' and for portraying Jane Corby Whig ...

in the 2021 historical drama series ''

A Very British Scandal ''A Very British Scandal'' is a 2021 British three-part historical drama series starring Claire Foy as Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll and Paul Bettany as Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll. While not a direct sequel or continuation, its ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beadon, Jane 1913 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Scottish women Deaths from multiple sclerosis People with multiple sclerosis Kemble family Mistresses People from Aberdeen Scottish film actresses Scottish people of English descent Scottish people of Welsh descent Scottish socialites Whigham family