Island Life Magazine Ltd October/ November 2012 | Page 37

INTERVIEW

Virginia:
my passion for Island
Interview by Peter White
In her 10 years as a Cabinet Minister
Virginia Bottomley was one of the most
powerful women in British politics.
But even she will admit she didn’t
quite carry the clout of the woman
who virtually ordered her to become
a Member of Parliament – none other
than former Prime Minister, ‘Iron Lady’
Margaret Thatcher.
During her decade at the cutting edge
of Government, and in all during her
21 years as a serving MP, Virginia never
lost sight of the education of life and
good values that were instilled into
her as a young girl growing up, for the
most part, here on the Island.
Despite being born in Scotland,
simply because her father was working
there at the time, she, along with
numerous family members, calls the
Island her home. She is here as often
as she can be, despite now being an
active member of the House of Lords
as Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone,
as well as working as a head-hunter for
a high-profile company in London.
She chairs the Odgers Berndtson Board
& CEO Practice, which conducts
searches for Chairmen, CEOs and
non-executive directors for plcs and
private companies.
During a break away from life in the
fast lane that she still enjoys, Virginia
took time out to give ‘Island Life’
readers an insight into her interesting
and rewarding career as an MP, and her

love of the Island.
She revealed: “My great grandfather
Sir Edward Poulton came to St Helens
Cottage in about 1890, and in 1915
he gave St Helens Common to the
National Trust. My other grandfather
Dr. William Garnett bought a house in
Seagrove Bay around 1900.
“My grandparents met playing hockey
in Priory Bay, and we still play hockey
there, so the family have been doing
that for more than 100 years. All my
family were quite academic and very
involved in public policies. Dr William
Garnett was involved in introducing
education to London as one of the
original signatories of the London
School of Economics where I studied,
so I am very proud of him.”
Her family bought half of Priory Bay
in 1926, and the family home was
built the following year. Since then
the whole family has been down here
constantly, with often as many as 100
relations gathering in the summer.
Virginia points out: “We all share a
passion for the Island. As a young girl
I remember we had these appalling
traditions, so every Easter Monday
we would walk from Horestone Point
to Whitecliff Bay – again a walk that
was started by my great grandfather in
1890. The other tradition is swimming
to St Helens Fort. My great uncles who
were killed in the First World War did
it, and I swam to the Fort when I was
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