Ralph Wigram - Personal Life

Personal Life

Wigram married Ava Bodley (1896–1974), daughter of the historian J. E. C. Bodley, on 28 February 1925; they had one child, Charles Edward Thomas Bodley Wigram (1929–1951) (who apparently suffered from some sort of birth defect, but sources disagree whether it was Down's Syndrome or cerebral palsy). Ava's letters to Churchill indicate that she supported Wigram's attempts to warn Churchill.

Wigram's sudden death is somewhat mysterious. Again, sources disagree, on several points. For one, some say he was found dead at home, but a letter from Churchill says he died in Ava's arms. His death certificate recorded the cause of death as pulmonary haemorrhage, but a letter from Henry Pelling indicates he committed suicide while deeply depressed; the fact that his own parents did not attend his funeral is cited as support for this theory (although Churchill and his family did attend, along with a number of others such as Robert Vansittart and Brendan Bracken). Churchill's letters indicate (but only indirectly) that depression and suicide were the cause. Polio has also been put forward as an indirect cause by some sources. He was buried in the churchyard at Cuckfield, Sussex. 51°0.16′N 0°8.36′W / 51.00267°N 0.13933°W / 51.00267; -0.13933 After Wigram's death, Ava stayed in close contact with Churchill, writing to him about her travels to Germany before the outbreak of war. She married Sir John Anderson in 1941.