How the daughter of a Spondon farmer ended up governess for the Kaiser as Europe marched to war
The fascinating story of a Spondon girl’s rise to serve one of the leading royal families of Europe is told in a new book. The latest publication from Spondon Archive is a biography of Anne Topham, who became a governess to the family of Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II in the years before the First World War broke out.
The book is entitled the Life and Times of Anne Topham – Governess to the Kaiser’s Daughter 1902-1909, and is written by Anita Hayes.
Anita says: “It is longer than the other books we have produced and took a couple of years of research to bring it to fruition.”
Anita tells how Anne Topham was born in Derby in 1864, the daughter of Thomas Topham, a farmer and butcher. Her mother was Mary Anne Cooke from Spondon; together they had seven children – two girls and five boys. The book contains some information on the family.
There is also a chapter on William Thurston Topham, Anne’s nephew, who was born in Spondon and emigrated to Canada. He made his name as a painter both during the First World War and throughout the rest of his life in Canada.
Two of his paintings from the Canadian War Museum can be seen in the book.
From the age of seven, Anne lived with her aunt, Sarah Ann Cooke, on Church Hill, in Spondon. She spent most of the rest of her life living on Church Hill, except for the seven years, from 1902 to 1909, which she spent as English governess to Princess Victoria Louise, the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.
Anita says: “You may wonder how she achieved this position. All will be revealed when you read our new book.”
On her return to England, Anne Topham wrote a book about her experiences of living with the German royal family. The book, Memories of the Kaiser’s Court, was published in August 1914.
Anita says: “It was an instant success, not just here in England but across the world. Anne wrote three books about her time at court and seven novels. There is a synopsis of each of her books in one of the chapters.
“She was an amusing and entertaining writer; her slightly irreverent manner in dealing with the Kaiser and his family probably comes from her roots in a Derbyshire farming community. Her forthright attitude led to the Kaiser giving Anne the name of “The British Dreadnought”. “Our book, The Life and Times of Anne Topham, contains extracts from many of her books and information on her early life. It also covers the politics of the day and life at Court. Anne was interested in the clothes people wore and the fashions of the day, and there are some lovely descriptions in the book. “She met and dined with famous people and European royal families. She saw Orville Wright fly his plane for the Emperor and the first Zeppelin flight over Berlin from the
Her slightly irreverent manner in dealing with the Kaiser and his family probably comes from her roots in a Derbyshire farming community.
roof of the royal palace.”
Anne visited many of the royal palaces with the Kaiser’s family. Included in the book is a map of Germany which shows some of the places she visited, along with pictures of the palaces and her thoughts on the buildings she saw and the people she met.
Anita says: “She left Germany in 1909, but went back for the Princess’s wedding in 1913. By that time the storm clouds were gathering over Europe. Her words, after seeing the Zeppelin fly over the palace in Berlin in 1909, were strangely prophetic.”
Anne wrote: “It strikes me now with a strange half-comic ruefulness, that I, an alien and a foreigner in the land, should have felt something of the same thrill of enthusiasm as the people around me, even though the regretful thought forced itself into my mind that this triumph of human ingenuity and skill would inevitably be used for military purposes – in other words, the object of destroying human life and happiness.”
The book is on sale at Spondon News, Housley pharmacy, Cherry Tree Picture Framers and Simnetts in Sitwell Street. It costs £5 plus postage where appropriate. A list of other books in the series is available to view at www. spondononline.co.uk/sca/ spondon-archive and spondonhistory.org.uk.
Spondon Historical Society is holding a book signing in Spondon Library on Saturday, July 23, between 10am and 12pm. There will also be other Spondon Archive books on sale.