On 28th September 1914, Harry welcomed his third daughter into the world. She was named Edith after her mother but became known as Nancy, most likely to avoid confusion over two women with the same name in one family.
See Nancy Preston for more.
1914: Second Marriage
On 12th March 1914, Harry married his second wife, Edith Ellen Collings, the hotel manageress at the Royal Albion in Brighton.
See Edith Collings and Harry and Lily English for more.
1913: Ellen Preston Dies
On 30th July 1913, Ellen Preston, Harry’s wife of 28 years, passed away from heart failure, aged 62.
See Ellen Boor and Harry Preston’s Early Days for more.
1913: Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton
Following his great success at the Royal York, in 1913 Harry bought the nearby Royal Albion Hotel, which had been closed since 1900, for £13,500 (having negotiated it down from the asking price of £30,000!).
Harry restored both the fabric and the fortunes of the Royal Albion Hotel. In the 1920s and 30s, it became the town’s leading hotel and haunt of many of the famous figures of the day; authors, actors, film stars, sportsmen and even the Prince of Wales were entertained by Harry who had a wonderful feel for publicity.
1911: My Lady Molly
Harry’s love of sailing continues with his motor yacht My Lady Molly. But both the yacht and Harry nearly came to grief in 1911 when, during a voyage from Erith to Cowes, the vessel ran into a storm. Not only was the yacht swamped with water but the engine caught fire. It was eventually driven ashore at Shoreham. Thankfully, both yacht and owner survived intact.
Later, during the Great War of 1914-1918, Harry’s brother Dick accompanied the boat, modified with armour plate and Maxim gun, to the Suez Canal and Bitter Lakes where it was used for minesweeping duties.
See also: 1907: Sussex Motor Yacht Club
