Claude Watney

[3] Watney was keenly interested in motor cars, and in June 1903 John Scott Montagu wrote in The Car Illustrated about Charles Rolls, Watney and other Old Etonians he was at school with who were involved in the motor trade, despite having no need to work for money.

[4] The magazine noted that Watney had showrooms in Wardour Street, selling Panhard and Mercedes motor cars.

Martin's family disapproved of the union and wished a divorce, for which Ada was said by the press to have asked $10,000, but he died in 1894 still married.

[10] A 1909 photo caption described Ada as "of medium height, fair complexion, golden-brown hair and grey-blue eyes" and "very fond of fishing, riding and driving, and is a very keen motorist".

[9] In the late 1890s, Watney moved to 20 Charles Street, Mayfair, London, which became the family home.

[14] He also acquired Mervil Hill, a house in Hambledon, Surrey, that had been owned since 1904 by the astronomer John Franklin-Adams.

A Panhard vehicle, c.1902
Ada Watney, c.1904
Garston Manor, Hertfordshire