Heir to gin empire is accused of attacking mother, 95
Aristocrat in ‘driving row’
The heir to a gin empire assaulted his 95-year-old mother and snapped her walking cane after arguing about her fitness to drive, a court heard.
Sir Walter Gavin Gilbey is accused of grabbing Lady elizabeth Gilbey’s stick and breaking it over his knee in a rage.
he is also accused of ‘violently’ grabbing his mother from her chair, causing her to fall so heavily to the floor that the blow knocked out her hearing aid.
But yesterday the fourth Baronet of the Gilbey dynasty, of Dornoch, Sutherland, claimed his mother had lied to frame him in revenge for him hiding her car keys to stop her driving because of her eye condition glaucoma.
horsham Magistrates Court heard they had argued about her driving as Sir Walter, 68, feared his mother was ‘a risk to herself and other road users’ because of her poor eyesight.
The aristocrat, whose family cofounded W & A Gilbey in 1857, a wine merchant and distiller most famous for its London dry gin, is said to have lashed out at his elderly mother at her £950,000 country home in Pulborough, Sussex, where he had been staying for a few days.
Prosecutor Amanda Burrows said: ‘On August 26 last year Lady Gilbey was at her home address.
‘The defendant had been staying with her some days and her housekeeper was away and there was nobody else in the house.
‘Lady Gilbey says the defendant came into the living room where she was watching television and they started arguing and she says her son came towards her in a threatening manner.’
Miss Burrows added: ‘She placed her walking cane in front of her and he snatched it and broke it into pieces. he grabbed her violently from her chair and she fell to the ground so hard her hearing aid fell from her ear.’
Lady Gilbey went to her neighbour for help. The neighbour spoke to Gilbey, but the police were not called.
She reported her son, who uses his middle name Gavin, to police five days later, showing them a large bruise on her chest she sustained in the alleged attack.
The court were shown photos taken by her daughter Camilla Frederick, showing ‘significant bruising’ to her chest.
Lady Gilbey, who has a history of falls, also saw her GP, Dr Timothy Fooks on September 5.
he told the court: ‘I was told ten days prior to her attending she had been in an altercations with
‘Told me she was pulled forward’
her son at her home. During that event she told me she was pulled forward in such a way that she fell on to her chest and that is how the bruise was caused.’
he added: ‘I observed quite a large bruise on her breast. The injury was a significant bruise in keeping with what I had been told.’
When he was questioned by police, the eton-educated baronet refused to answer questions and was unable to account for how the cane was broken.
he gave officers a prepared statement claiming he was the victim. he admitted he had removed his mother’s cane as he said: ‘She was in the process of assaulting me.’
he told officers: ‘I deny assaulting my mother in any way whatsoever. I have not acted in any way that is considered threatening or intimidating.
‘I did not cause any injury or bruising to my mother.’
Yesterday John Blandford, defending, said Lady Gilbey had invented the allegation because her son had hidden her car keys to prevent her driving.
he added: ‘Lady Gilbey was driving on a regular basis even though she has glaucoma, which she should have informed DVLA about.
‘The defendant was very concerned she was driving and causing a risk to other road users and on two occasions took her car keys away. This led to rows and threats and that is the reason for the false allegation.’
The twice-divorced aristocrat is the fourth Baronet to hold the title created in 1893 for the wine merchant, stock-breeder, agriculturalist and philanthropist Walter Gilbey.
he was chairman and co-founder of W & A Gilbey, established in 1857, and best known for Gilbey’s London dry gin.
The brand is now owned by industry giant Diageo, but his heir Sir Walter served as a director of Gilbey’s International between 1986 and 1992.
Gilbey denies assault and the trial continues.