Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2011 | Page 39

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Island Life - February/March 2011

Photo above: Elsa Macpherson, Janetta, Rosemary, Anne - Three Gates, Warwickshire - 1933
Photo Left : Anne pictured as High Sheriff at Carisbrooke Castle 2002.
(Photo: Vernon Stratton)

Anne Springman laughs heartily as she fondly
recalls a career that has provided her with a
kaleidoscope of colourful experiences.
There has clearly been very little not to
enjoy as she undertook a variety of secretarial
and personal assistant duties to a number
of famous names, before finally returning to
the tranquillity of the Island to manage her
estate that includes the picturesque Shanklin
Chine and the popular Fisherman’s Cottage
pub on the beach below.
She was the Island’s High Sheriff for a
12-month period in 2002 and 2003, the
Queen’s Jubilee year, and as you engage in
conversation with her you soon appreciate
that two words – ‘lucky’ and ‘fun’ - are
a key part of her vocabulary. Time and
again as she recalled with such detail some
events that happened more than 60 years
ago, ‘lucky’ and ‘fun’ crept effortlessly into
the conversation. Of course she has also
experienced difficult and traumatic times, but
they are far outweighed by the excitement
she has enjoyed.
Born Anne Macpherson at the Manor
House, Shanklin, Anne was one of three
daughters of parents Cameron Macpherson
and his Swedish wife Elsa. Her mother came
to the Island initially to improve her skills in
the English language, and the couple met at
a tennis party at Westhill Manor.
“My great grandfather John Cameron
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Macpherson of Cluny married Mary Popham,
sister of Francis White Popham. They had no
children so the Shanklin estate came via the
Pophams, and my grandfather and father
both had a life interest.
“My grandfather died very young, so my
father had a guardian, and was a bit of a
tearaway. He was once caught by the police
driving his Bentley through Shanklin rather
too fast and was disqualified for three
months. So my mother and father had to
have rather a long honeymoon abroad, and I
think that is where I started,” she laughed.
At the age of two, Anne moved with her
family to Warwickshire, primarily because
her father was a keen huntsman, and
the Warwickshire Hunt had a reputation
for being among the best in the country.
“Doesn’t that sound ghastly in this day and
age, but that was the reason,” said Anne.
“My parents sold the house here, but kept
the land, and off we went.
“In a way my father always regretted he
never had a proper job, but in those days
there was no real need. He had an extremely
good brain, was a wonderful gardener,
famous for his roses.”
Anne grew up with her two sisters Janetta
and Rosemary in Warwickshire cycling to
and from a very small school in a nearby
village, where she v2VGV6FVB'