Airmyne Jenney (1919–1999) was the daughter of Frances Harpur Crewe. As a child, Airmyne visited Calke regularly to see her grandparents – Sir Vauncey and Isobel, Lady Crewe. She moved to Calke in 1949 when her brother Charles inherited the Estate.
In the 1940s, Airmyne worked at the Army Remount Centre at Melton Mowbray. Following an accident when she was kicked by a horse, the lives of Airmyne and her family changed dramatically as she found herself unable to speak.
Over many years and with the support of her family, particularly her devoted brother Henry who she described phonetically in her speech therapy book as ‘Hen-ry the lis-ner’, Airmyne learned to talk again.
Airmyne Jenney and Henry Francis (Jenney) Harpur-Crewe. Image courtesy of the National Trust and Derbyshire Records Office (D2375/H/D/1/13)
Asked to write seven sentences to focus her therapy, Airmyne wrote ‘I like men who smoke a pipe’.
Airmyne’s speech therapy book reveals something of her warmth and sense of humour as well as the value she placed on her relationship with Henry.
Airmyne Jenney’s speech therapy book from Calke Abbey. © National Trust