Nancy Spain Nancy Brooker Spain ( 13 September 1917 – 21 March 1964 ) was a prominent English broadcaster and journalist . She was a columnist for the " Daily Express " , " She " magazine and the " News of the World " in the 1950s and 1960s , also appearing on many radio broadcasts , particularly on " Woman ' s Hour " and " My Word ! " , and later as a panelist on the television programs " Juke Box Jury " and " What ' s My Line ? " . Spain died in an airplane crash near Aintree racecourse while travelling to commentate on the 1964 Grand National . Early life . Spain was born in Jesmond , Newcastle upon Tyne . She was the second of the two daughters of Lieutenant - Colonel George Spain , a freeman of the city and a prominent figure in local military and antiquarian affairs . He was a writer himself and appeared in a number of radio plays as well as broadcasting commentaries on Newcastle United games . Her mother , Norah Smiles , was the daughter of Lucy Dorling ( a sister of Isabella Beeton ) and William Holmes Smiles ( son of Samuel Smiles ) . As a child , Spain remembered pushing the future eminent journalist William Hardcastle into the Bull Park Lake on the Town Moor , where she used to learn to ride at five shillings an hour " with other little bourgeois tots " . Spain went to Roedean School ( a family tradition ) from 1913 to 1935 , where she began wearing " mannish " clothes , and developed the speaking voice which stood her in such good stead in her eventual media career . She played lacrosse for Northumberland and Durham , and hockey for the North of England , as well as playing tennis and cricket . She also acted on BBC radio , where she took over the star parts vacated by Esther McCracken . She was a sports reporter for the " Newcastle Journal " , and had a love affair with local sportswoman Winifred Sargeant . During the war , Spain served in the WRNS on Tyneside , a period covered in her book " Thank you , Nelson " ( 1945 ) . She served as a driver and was then commissioned , and worked in the WRNS press office in London . Post - war career . After the war , Spain published several books , including a series of detective novels set at a girls school , Radcliffe Hall ( based on Roedean ) . She became a star columnist for the " Daily Express " , " She magazine " and the " News of the World " in the 1950s and 1960s and made many radio broadcasts , particularly on " Woman ' s Hour " and " My Word ! " She later appeared as a panelist on BBC TV ' s record review program " Juke Box Jury " and the panel game " What ' s My Line ? " In 1962 she performed " The Blaydon Races " , the Victorian Tyneside song , at London ' s Marquee Club with Alexis Korner and Blues Incorporated . A recording of the latter was published on the album " R & B from the Marquee " . Spain ' s scatty style of column - writing caused the " Daily Express " to be sued successfully for libel - twice - by Evelyn Waugh . As well as Spain ' s books of memoirs , including " Why I ' m Not a Millionaire " ( 1956 ) , Nancy wrote a biography in 1948 of her relative Mrs . Beeton , and a series of detective novels . Rose Collis wrote a posthumous biography of the broadcaster and journalist in 1997 . Private life . Often in the news , and tempted to marry to seem " respectable " - Spain ' s name was linked with that of Gilbert Harding - she lived openly with the editor of " She " , Joan Werner Laurie ( Jonny ) , and was a friend of the famous , including Noël Coward and Marlene Dietrich . She and Laurie were regulars at the Gateways club in Chelsea , London , and were widely known to be lesbians . Spain and Laurie lived in an extended household with the rally driver Sheila van Damm , Spain ' s son Nicholas ( born 1946 ) , and Laurie ' s son Thomas ( born in 1952 after an affair with Philip Youngman Carter , husband of Margery Allingham ; for the sake of propriety , Thomas was described as Laurie ' s youngest son ) . Spain died , with Laurie and four others , when the Piper Apache airplane crashed near Aintree racecourse on her way to commentate on the 1964 Grand National . She was cremated with Laurie at Golders Green Crematorium , London , and her ashes were put in the family grave in Horsley , Northumberland . Spain left one son - Tom Carter , publicly unacknowledged during her lifetime - but her will left her estate to Laurie ( who was three years younger , and so assumed for legal purposes to die after her ) . Laurie ' s son Nicolas inherited the joint estates , and Spain ' s son inherited nothing . Coward summed up in his diary : " It is cruel that all that gaiety , intelligence and vitality should be snuffed out when so many bores and horrors are left living . " Bibliography . Detective Series featuring Johnny DuVivien and / or Miriam Birdseye 1 . Death Before Wicket ( 1946 ) 2 . Poison in Play ( 1946 ) 3 . Murder , Bless It ( 1948 ) 4 . Death Goes On Skis ( 1949 ) 5 . Poison for Teacher ( 1949 ) 6 . Cinderella Goes to the Morgue ( 1950 ) aka Minutes to Murder 7 . R in the Month ( 1950 ) 8 . Not Wanted On Voyage ( 1951 ) 9 . Out , Damned Tot ( 1952 ) Novels