Did you know?

Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji (1862–1937) was an Indian Parsi shipping magnate and philanthropist who owned The Willows, a large and lavish estate on the western outskirts of Windsor from the late 1910s until 1947. The grounds included what became Riverside Park, Squire’s Garden Centre, which was the kitchen garden, Sutherland Grange and The Hatch.

In November 1920, Sir Dhunjibhoy and Lady Frainy Bomanji hosted a major charitable event at The Willows, welcoming some 650 guests who had been bused in from Bachelors’ Acre. These photographs show the parade from The Willows to The Hatch of war widows, ex-servicemen who included Oliver Brooks VC, and orphans who each received a donation from Lady Frainy. On the dais with the Bomanjs were Princess Alice and Field Marshal Earl Haig.

After he died in India in 1937, Lady Frainy remained in their autumnal home, Pineheath House, in Harrogate. When The Willows was returned to her after war use and the 1947 floods, she was distressed at its state and sold it. She remained in Harrogate until she died in 1986, where she was known affectionately as ‘The Lady in the Sari’ and ‘Lady Harrogate’; she was awarded the Honorary Freemanship of the town in 1984.

Read more about Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji.