This is the story of a remarkable woman, and the family and house she has loved.

Lucia Lawson spent her early childhood in London - where well-born children had their tonsils removed on a scrubbed nursery table and crept out of bed to hear Ivor Novello or Noel Coward play for their mother after dinner.

In 1934, Lucia’s parents moved to Hall Barn, Beaconsfield – an extraordinarily beautiful house built by Edmund Waller in the late 1600s. Her history and description of Hall Barn in the first section of this book sparkle with a lifetime of memories.

It was ownership of the Daily Telegraph which provided the family fortune. Lucia’s great-grandfather, uncle, father and brother worked for the Daily Telegraph for over 120 years. Lucia’s family history is the behind-the-scenes story of Press Barons, royal patronage, and a century of change.

This is also the story of Lucia’s own eventful life. Inspired by the heroics of her father and brother at Dunkirk, she went to work for SHAEF (Eisenhower’s invasion HQ) as D-Day approached. This book is the story of a woman full of passion, hard work, loyalty and pride.

Lucia Whitehead (née Lawson) was born in 1922, daughter of the 4th Baron and Baroness Burnham of Hall Barn, Beaconsfield. During World War II she served on General Eisenhower’s staff in London, Paris and Berlin. Her letters home during wartime have been published in Last Letters Home, Ten Days in May, and Women’s Letters in Wartime. Since 1984 Lucia has been the Lawson family archivist. She lives in Beaconsfield.