Evening star., 1923-06-29
Novel Written by Italian Premier
To Be Subject of Screen Play

Aylmer, who was an admiral OF the
royal navy, died, like his brother and
predecessor in the family honors.
without leaving any issue. and after
the title had remained dormant for
a time II was claimed by Udolphus
Aylmer, a grandson of Rear Admiral
John Aylmer, and son of the second
lord. who had settled in Canada a
few years after the American war of
independence.
The claimant made his home at Mel
bourne, in Canada, and as he was
quite unknown in London, although
prominent in Canadian life, a real
pioneer. an ardent agriculturist. an
organizer and commander of the 54th
Regiment of Canadian Militia, which
he had commanded throughout four
decades at the time of his death, 1t
required several years before the
committee of privileges of the house
OF lords, at Westminster. admitted
the justice of his claims to the Aylmer
barony and recommended the crown
TO issue to him the usual summons,
establishing him in the ranks of the
peers of Ireland. They are long
lived race and. born in 1914, he sur
vived until 1901, when he was sue
ceeded by the octogenarian general
who has just been laid to his rest
X X X
There is another branch of the Ayl-
mer family, now headed by Sir Arthur
Fitzgerald Aylmer, whose baronetcy
is still older than that Of Lord Ayl-
mer, having been created by King
James I. and who had brief but un-
fortunate matrimonial experience with
daughter of the late j. Douglas
Reid of New York, previously divorced
by her first husband, George Stell of
Chicago. Sir Arthur makes his home
at Donadea Lodge, a pretty place in
Hampshire, to which he has given the
name of the original country seat Of
the Aylmers In Kildare, which has
passed out of their possession. Hav-
ing no children, the next heir to his
honors is his brother, Gen Sir Fem
ton Aylmer, a most distinguished SOL
dier. who won the Victoria Cross on
the Indian frontier away back In 1891
by a piece OF magnificent heroism and
is now general commanding the royal
engineer service of the British army.
His military achievements and the
frecognition which they have received
are all the more remarkable in view
of the fact that his branch of the
house of Aylmer is, according to Irish
superstition, a family which has long
been subject to ill-luck, due to some
appointed to command the force which
arrived too late to relieve the siege
of Kut. in Mesopotamia. and to avert
the 1amentab1e surrender there OF
Gen. Sir Charles Townsend and of his
army to the Turks, there was a good
deal Of shaking of heads by reason of
the ill-luck attached by popular SUI
n n " y
One Of the most shocking tragedies
in the annals of this house was the
death of John Harrison Aylmer, grand
son of the sixth baronet. with his
wife, his eldest son, his nieces and
several servants, while on their way
from London to Ireland some fifty
years ago. The express train on
which they were travelling to Holy
head ran into a number of trucks con-
tanning barrels of paraffin, left
to Abergele, a small station in North
will know Just what happened.
The force OF the explosion killed all
| in the express and the confla grafton
which followed obliterated every evil
dence of the terrible destruction
Whole families were wiped out of ex-
istence, several of them belonging to
the peerage. Not one of the Aylmer
party escaped and the only trace ever
found Of them or OF their belongings
was q small dressing case with young
! Arthur Aylmer's monogram discov-
| cred In the wreckage, which had been
hurled by the force of the explosion
free from the track and from the
scoua af fhA eando err tion.