Background
Helen Cynthia Crewe-Milnes was the third daughter of Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe, by his first wife, the former Sibyl Graham, daughter of Sir Frederick Graham (of the Graham Baronets of Netherby) and Lady Jane Street Maur.
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Helen Helen Cynthia Colville
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Lady Helen Cynthia Colville, née Crewe-Milnes, DCVO, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the Royal College of Music, Justice of the Peace was an English courtier and social worker, serving as a Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary, while at the same time devoting her energies to alleviating the suffering of Shoreditch, one of the poorest areas of the East End of London.
Career
She had an older sister, an older brother, and a twin sister. Helen Cynthia married the Honorary George Charles Colville, younger son of the 1st Viscount Colville of Culross and the Honorary
Cecile Carrington, on 21 January 1908.
Their children were: David Richard Colville (b 11 May 1909 – d 9 February 1987) Major Philip Robert Colville (b 7 November 1910 – d 11 April 1997) Sir John Rupert Colville (b 28 January 1915 – d 1987), the diarist She raised eyebrows when she introduced a commoner, Thomas Benjamin Frederick Davis, albeit a self-made man, into her own stratum of society, persuading the Queen to invite him to dinner on the royal yacht HMY Victoria and Albert III in the Cowes Week regatta. In 1948 Shoreditch Council renamed a housing estate on Felton Street estate as "the Colville estate" in honour of her long association.
In 1963, Lady Cynthia published her autobiography, Crowded Life. She died on 15 June 1968, aged 84, at 4 Mulberry Walk, Chelsea, London, England.
Achievements
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She was invested as an Officer, Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (OStJ) She held the office of Justice of the Peace (Justice of the Peace) for the County of London She held the office of Woman of the Bedchamber to Her Majesty Queen Mary between 1923–1953 She was invested as a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (DCVO) 11 May 1937 She was invested as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1953 She was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Law (Doctor of Laws) by Leeds University She was invested as a Fellow, Royal College of Music (Fellow of the Royal College of Music).
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Born
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Died
June 15, 1968 (aged 84) -
Nationality
United Kingdom