Sir (Henry) John Delves Broughton, 11th Bt

Sir Henry John Delves Broughton, 11th Baronet DL (10 September 1883 – 5 December 1942) was a British baronet who is chiefly known for standing trial for the murder of Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll. The event was the basis of the film White Mischief.

Born at Doddington Hall in Doddington, Cheshire, Delves Broughton came into the baronetcy upon the death of his father in April 1914. He had married Vera Edyth Griffith-Boscawen (2 January 1894 – 21 August 1968) on 8 July 1913; their daughter, Rosamond, married Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat in 1938. On the outbreak of World War I, as a captain in the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards, he was due to sail with his men, but was taken ill and had to be replaced. He was forced to sell off most of the 34,000 acres (140 km²) of the family estate in the 1930s to pay gambling debts. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was part of a consortium which owned the Ensbury Park Race Course in Kinson, Dorset, now a part of Bournemouth. In 1939, he was suspected of insurance fraud after the theft of his wife's pearls and some paintings, on which he claimed the insurance. Months after he and Vera divorced, Delves Broughton married Diana Caldwell in Durban, South Africa, on 5 November 1940, and the couple moved to Kenya.

Erroll was found shot in the head in his car at a crossroads outside Nairobi on 24 January 1941. He and the Delves Broughtons were part of the so-called Happy Valley set living in Happy Valley, Kenya.

Erroll's former lover, Alice de Janzé, was initially viewed by the Happy Valley set as a suspect, but Delves Broughton - whose bride was very-publicly carrying on with Erroll - was arrested. He was acquitted at trial for lack of evidence, a conclusion that hinged on the identification of the murder weapon. Delves Broughton's pistol was a Colt with 6 grooves, and Erroll was killed by a bullet with 5 grooves. No pistol was produced by the Crown or by the defence. Delves Broughton claimed that two of his pistols, a silver cigarette case and 10 or 20 shillings were stolen days before Erroll's death.

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