The Mitford Girls 2 (Chapters 2-3)

 

As a child, Nacy attended the Frances Holland day school. The few months she spent there represented almost the whole of her formal schooling. Francis Holland School is the name of three separate private day schools for girls in central London, governed by the Francis Holland (Church of England) Schools Trust.

Sydney rented Old Mill Cottage in High Wycombe. 

On 8 August 1914 the Mitfords have their fifth child, who they called Unity after the actress Unity Moore. 

Unity More (1891–1981) was a prominent British stage and screen actress and dancer. Born Unity Kathleen Morten in Hampstead, London, she is best known for her celebrated work in Edwardian musical comedies, stage ballets, and early silent films.

David rejoined his regiment when the war broke out. On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Mitford rejoined the Northumberland Fusiliers. He was commissioned as a lieutenant and served as a logistics officer in Flanders, being mentioned in despatches for his bravery at the Second Battle of Ypres. With only one lung and by now a captain he was invalided out of active service in 1916.

David's elder brother, Clement, was killed in the fighting and David became his father's heir. 

David moved to Malcolm House in Gloucestershire. Malcolm House is a substantial, privately-owned country house located on the historic Batsford Estate in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire. Dating back to the 19th century, it is a designated Grade II listed building noted for its architectural value.

In 1916 Lord Redesdale died, and David became the second Lord Redesdale. The family moved to Batsford. Batsford is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire. 

Jessica Mitford was born on 11 September 1917. She was the Mitfords' sixth child. 

In 1919 David bought Asthall Manor. David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale (2nd creation), father of the Mitford sisters, inherited Asthall Manor on the death of his father in August 1916[6] and in 1919 moved his family there from Batsford Park.

In 1920 Debo Mitford was born. She was a disappointment to her father, Lord Redesdale, who had desperately hoped for a boy.