Hubbry Logo
Kay SummersbyKay SummersbyMain
Open search
Kay Summersby
Community hub
Kay Summersby
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Kay Summersby
Kay Summersby
Kay Summersby
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

Key Information

External image
image icon Bust portraits of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Kay Summersby Morgan[1]

Kathleen Helen Summersby BEM (née MacCarthy-Morrogh; 23 November 1908 – 20 January 1975), known as Kay Summersby, was a member of the British Mechanised Transport Corps during World War II, who served as a chauffeur and later as personal secretary to Dwight D. Eisenhower during his period as Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force in command of the Allied forces in North West Europe.

Summersby and Eisenhower spent a significant amount of time together until World War II ended, at which time Eisenhower cut ties and returned to the United States. It is generally agreed that Summersby and Eisenhower became extremely close during the war; some writers have suggested a sexual relationship between the two, although people who knew both of them at the time have rejected that claim, as have most of Eisenhower's biographers.

Early life

[edit]

Summersby was born in Ballydehob, County Cork, Ireland.[2][3] She was the daughter of Donald Florence MacCarthy-Morrogh and Vera Mary MacCarthy-Morrogh (née Hutchinson). Her father, descended from the MacCarthy Reagh princes of Carbery, was originally from County Kerry, and her mother was born in Wales,[2] as the fourth of five sisters, to an English father and Irish mother who was also descended from the Morrogh family.[4]

She described her father, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Royal Munster Fusiliers, as "black Irish" and her mother as English. As a young woman, she moved to London where she worked as a film studio extra, dabbled in photography, and eventually became a fashion model. She was married in 1936 to British Army officer Gordon Thomas Summersby. When they divorced in 1943,[5] she retained the name of her ex-husband,[3] as is usual. There was an engagement to marry Lieutenant Colonel Richard "Dick" Arnold of the US Army that overlapped her initial period with Eisenhower; however, this ended with the death of her fiancé while mine clearing during the North Africa campaign.[6][7]

World War II

[edit]

When Britain entered World War II in 1939, Kay Summersby joined the British Mechanised Transport Corps (MTC). She drove an ambulance throughout the London Blitz in 1940 and 1941,[3] and was reportedly excellent at navigating London streets during blackouts and fog.[7] When the United States joined the Allies after the German declaration of war in December 1941, Summersby was one of many MTC drivers assigned as chauffeurs to high-ranking American military officers.

Summersby was assigned to drive Major General Dwight Eisenhower when he arrived in London in May 1942. Though there was a brief interruption of several weeks due to Eisenhower's short return to the US, Summersby chauffeured Eisenhower and later became his secretary until November 1945, based at his home Telegraph Cottage in Warren Road, Coombe, Kingston upon Thames. During this time Eisenhower rose in rank to General of the Army and commander of the European Theatre, and Kay, with his help, became a US citizen and a commissioned officer in the US Women's Army Corps (WACs), ultimately leaving the service as a captain in 1947.

Captain Summersby's military awards included the Bronze Star Medal,[8] Women's Army Corps Service Medal, European Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with "Germany" clasp. Although several online sources[who?] state that Summersby received the Legion of Merit, there is no known documentary evidence that she was awarded it. The Legion of Merit was normally awarded to senior officers in the rank of colonel and above.

Life after the war

[edit]

Summersby was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 1945 New Year Honours List.[9] The award, at the insistence of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was presented, with a signed photograph of the Prime Minister, aboard the MV Britannic in New York more than three years later.[10]

After leaving the service in 1947, Summersby settled in the United States, and was, at one point, engaged to a man in San Francisco who thought she had money.[7] She married the Wall Street stockbroker Reginald H. Morgan in 1952,[11] but was divorced in 1958.[12][7] She died at her home in Southampton, Long Island, of cancer, on 20 January 1975,[13] at the age of 66.

Relationship with Eisenhower

[edit]

There is a question whether Summersby consummated a romance with Eisenhower during the war, as there is no definitive evidence as to the matter. Many people knew both of them during the war but none alleged there was an affair. In Eisenhower Was My Boss, Summersby's 1948 memoir of the war years, written with journalist Frank Kearns, she made no mention of any affair. Her 1975 autobiography, Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with Dwight D. Eisenhower, was explicit about there being a romance, although it also said they had not actually had sexual intercourse. However, she did not dictate the text. Past Forgetting was ghostwritten by Barbara Wyden while Summersby was dying of cancer.[14] This book was contracted after Eisenhower had died in 1969. The text states the omission of the affair from the 1948 book was due to her concern for Eisenhower's privacy. Summersby reportedly stated shortly before her death: "The General is dead. I am dying. When I wrote Eisenhower Was My Boss in 1948, I omitted many things, changed some details, glossed over others to disguise as best I could the intimacy that had grown between General Eisenhower and me. It was better that way."[15]

Those who dispute the claim of an affair maintain that the second book's description of the relationship was simply fabricated, presumably by the ghostwriter. By the book's account there were two unsuccessful attempts to have intercourse.[15] Instead of sex, wrote Summersby, the affair mostly consisted of "stolen kisses" during walks or on aeroplanes, holding hands, and horseback riding or golfing together. She kept a note from Eisenhower that asked, "How about lunch, tea, & dinner today?" the note says. "If yes: Who else do you want, if any? At which time? How are you?"[7] Red Cross volunteer and writer Margaret Chase was one of the authors discounting the affair in her 1983 book.[16]

Eisenhower himself only mentioned Summersby once in Crusade in Europe, his 1948 memoir of the war, in a list of aides.[7] Historian Carlo D'Este notes that members of Eisenhower's staff denied that there was ever an affair between them and dismisses Summersby's book as "fanciful".[17] However, rumours and jokes about their relationship were common among soldiers who did not know the two. Eisenhower's son John, who briefly served as an aide, described her as "the Mary Tyler Moore of headquarters. She was perky and she was cute. Whether she had any designs on the Old Man and the extent to which he succumbed, I just don't know."[7]

Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery wrote in his diary that Past Forgetting "should have never been written, it can do Eisenhower no good. If American generals were in the habit of dealing with women secretaries and drivers as Eisenhower did and others appear to have done if this book is true, then their characters slump in the eyes of the world. This book makes it clear that Eisenhower discussed with Kay Summersby, his woman car driver, his views on Generals under him, and disclosed to her the most secret matters; all this is now given to the public in her book. Her views on world figures are enlightening, since they are obviously Eisenhower's views."[18]

President Harry S. Truman reportedly told author Merle Miller that in 1945, Eisenhower asked permission from General George Marshall to divorce his wife to marry Summersby, but permission was refused.[15] Truman also allegedly said he had the correspondence between Marshall and Eisenhower retrieved from the Army archives and destroyed.[19] However, Truman's account of the Summersby controversy has been rejected by most scholars.[20][21][22] Historians say Truman had a mistaken recollection and emphasize that Eisenhower had asked permission to bring his wife to England. Others have speculated that Truman was not truthful about Eisenhower because of animosity between the two men that intensified during the Eisenhower presidency (Truman stated that Eisenhower did not invite him back to the White House during his administration).[23] Historian Robert H. Ferrell stated he found that the tapes of Miller's interviews with Truman contain no mention whatever of Summersby, and concludes that Miller concocted the story.[24]

Eisenhower biographer Jean Edward Smith wrote, "Whether he and Kay were intimate remains a matter of conjecture. But there is no question they were in love." Smith accepted Miller's account because Garrett Mattingly, who as a naval officer in Washington censored outgoing cables, told a similar story to his Columbia University faculty colleagues in the early 1950s. Smith cited several other people who believed in or were told of the existence of an affair. Omar Bradley in his autobiography wrote that the two were in love and that "Their close relationship is quite accurately portrayed, so far as my personal knowledge extends, in Kay's second book, Past Forgetting". James Gavin wrote that when he asked Chicago Tribune reporter John Thompson during the war whether Eisenhower and Summersby were having an affair, Thompson replied "I have never before seen a chauffeur get out of a car and kiss the General good morning".[25][26]

Awards and honours

[edit]

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Kay Summersby

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Kathleen Helen "Kay" Summersby (née MacCarthy-Morrogh; 23 November 1908 – 20 January 1975) was an Irish-born woman who served as the personal , , and secretary to General , Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, during . Born in , , to a retired officer father, she joined the Mechanized Transport Corps in and was assigned to drive senior Allied officers in , leading to her selection for Eisenhower's staff in 1942 upon his arrival in . Summersby accompanied Eisenhower throughout the European theater, providing logistical support and personal assistance amid the stresses of command, and she later detailed these experiences in her 1948 memoir Eisenhower Was My Boss. A defining controversy surrounds her posthumously published 1976 book Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with Dwight D. Eisenhower, in which she alleged a romantic and physical relationship with the general; however, no contemporaneous evidence such as letters or witness corroboration exists, Eisenhower consistently denied any impropriety, and historians have widely regarded the claims as unsubstantiated or exaggerated, attributing them potentially to Summersby's desire for attention or financial gain after falling out of favor in Eisenhower's circle post-war. Following the war, she divorced her first husband, married American businessman Reginald H. Morgan in 1946, relocated to the , and became a citizen in 1952, living quietly in New York until her death from cancer.

Early Life

Childhood and Family

Kathleen Helen MacCarthy-Morrogh, later known as Kay Summersby, was born on 23 November 1908 at Inish Beg House, a family estate on a small island off the coast of , . She was the eldest daughter of Major Donald Florence MacCarthy-Morrogh, a retired officer in the Royal Munster Fusiliers who descended from the MacCarthy Reagh princes of Carbery in and died in 1932, and Vera Mary (née Hutchinson), whose family background included English and Irish ancestry. The McCarthy-Morrogh family had acquired Inish Beg in 1830 as a sporting estate, reflecting their Anglo-Irish gentry status. Summersby had two younger sisters, including Elizabeth Evelyn ("Evie"), born about 14 months after her, and a younger brother, James Clement ("Seamus"), born in January 1912. Her parents separated during her childhood, after which the family circumstances contributed to the estate falling into disrepair. She spent her early years on Inish Beg, engaging in activities such as down the river to the Atlantic, , and riding through the fields and tree-lined avenues, under the tutelage of a succession of governesses. These pursuits shaped a tomboyish upbringing amid the rural landscape, before she relocated to in 1932 to pursue modeling and acting opportunities.

Pre-War Activities

Kathleen Helen McCarthy-Morrogh, later known as Kay Summersby, relocated to with her mother following her parents' separation when she was approximately 16 years old in 1924. In , she pursued education in art and business. She subsequently entered the fields of modeling and acting, working as a fashion model for the House of Worth in and appearing as an extra in London film studios. In 1936, Summersby married Gordon Thomas Summersby, a British stockbroker. The marriage failed and ended in divorce prior to the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, leaving her a divorcée by the time of her wartime service.

World War II Service

Enlistment and Training

Upon the outbreak of World War II in Europe on September 3, 1939, Summersby volunteered for the Mechanised Transport Corps (MTC), a civilian women's organization that provided drivers and mechanics to support military efforts. She underwent training in the MTC to qualify as a driver and mechanic, skills essential for operating vehicles under wartime conditions. In her early service with the MTC, Summersby drove ambulances in during from September 1940 to May 1941, navigating blackout conditions and bomb-damaged streets to transport casualties. In 1941, following the expansion of formal military roles for women, she transferred to the (ATS), the women's branch of the , where she was commissioned as a , equivalent to a rank. Her ATS training built on MTC experience, emphasizing disciplined vehicle operation, maintenance, and coordination with military units, though specific course durations are not documented in available records. This prepared her for staff driving duties, leading to her selection for high-level assignments in 1942.

Assignment and Duties

In May 1942, Kay Summersby, then serving with the British Mechanised Transport Corps, was assigned as the personal driver to Major General shortly after his arrival in to assume command of American forces in Europe. Her initial duties centered on chauffeuring Eisenhower through wartime , navigating blackout conditions and security protocols while facilitating his meetings with British officials and Allied commanders. This role extended to providing reliable transportation amid resource shortages, including managing a for official travel. As Eisenhower's responsibilities expanded with the establishment of the (SHAEF) in 1943, Summersby's position evolved to include secretarial duties; she handled personal correspondence, scheduling, and administrative support on his immediate staff. She relocated with SHAEF headquarters from to and later to the European continent following the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, accompanying Eisenhower to forward areas where she endured field rations and shared accommodations under combat conditions alongside generals such as and . Her service persisted through the Allied advance into until November 1945, after the German surrender on May 8. In 1944, Summersby transferred to the U.S. (WAC), attaining commissioned officer status with Eisenhower's sponsorship, which formalized her integration into American military structures while retaining her attachment to his . She received military awards including the for her contributions to SHAEF operations. Her duties emphasized discretion and efficiency in a high-stakes environment, though specific administrative outputs remain undocumented in beyond her staff role.

Role in Allied Operations

Summersby joined the British Mechanised Transport Corps early in and was selected as a driver for senior Allied officers in , eventually assigned as personal chauffeur to General upon his arrival to command the European Theater of Operations in June 1942. Her primary duties within the (SHAEF) involved transporting Eisenhower between headquarters, strategic conferences, and forward positions, ensuring his mobility amid the demands of coordinating multinational forces for operations such as , , and . In addition to driving, Summersby performed secretarial functions, maintaining Eisenhower's desk diaries for 1944 and 1945, which recorded daily appointments, troop movements, and observations on operational developments. She authored most entries in these diaries, including those on June 4 and 5, 1944, documenting the high-stakes deliberations over weather delays and final preparations for the invasion amid mounting tension at SHAEF. These records provide contemporaneous insights into the command's response to critical junctures, such as the Allied breakout from beaches in late July 1944, the German counteroffensive in December 1944, and the coordinated push toward the in early 1945. As Allied forces advanced into , Summersby accompanied Eisenhower on inspections of liberated territories and documented his firsthand assessments of Nazi atrocities, including a visit to the on April 12, 1945, where her diary entries captured his directives for thorough photographic and film documentation to counter potential postwar denial. Her support role thus facilitated Eisenhower's direct oversight of operational execution and post-combat accountability, though confined to personal aide functions rather than tactical decision-making.

Association with Dwight D. Eisenhower

Professional Relationship

Kay Summersby, a volunteer with the British Mechanised Transport Corps, was assigned as a to high-ranking American officers following the U.S. entry into , and in May 1942, she began driving Major General shortly after his arrival in to command U.S. forces in the European Theater of Operations. , impressed by her during a , specifically requested her services, after which she transported him across amid wartime blackouts and fog using pinpoint headlights on a sedan, a skill her naval aide Harry Butcher rated superior to that of male drivers. Her driving duties extended to and later war-torn as Allied operations advanced. In addition to chauffeuring, Summersby accompanied Eisenhower to combat zones, attended top-secret strategy meetings, and assisted with logistical support during key campaigns, including preparations for the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, where she observed departures from an airfield in Newbury, . Promoted to the role of personal secretary—first informally and later as a commissioned in the U.S. —she managed his correspondence, schedules, and "unofficial mail," while also serving as a hostess at formal dinners for Allied leaders. Eisenhower's trust in her was evident in his remark to : "We have no secrets from Kay," reflecting her integration into his inner staff circle, which included interactions with figures like , , and . Her service concluded in November 1945, after the European theater's victory, for which she received the from Churchill, though a U.S. recommendation was denied by General George Marshall. Throughout her tenure from 1942 to 1945, Summersby's multifaceted role provided essential administrative and operational support to Eisenhower amid the pressures of supreme command.

Extent of Personal Involvement

Kay Summersby and developed a close personal friendship during , characterized by frequent private conversations, shared meals, and emotional support amid the stresses of command, but claims of a physical affair remain unsubstantiated by independent evidence. Summersby served as Eisenhower's driver and aide from 1942 onward, often accompanying him on trips and providing companionship that extended beyond formal duties, including informal evenings where she helped alleviate his isolation from family. Eisenhower reportedly confided in her about personal matters, such as tensions in his marriage to , fostering a bond that contemporaries noted as unusually intimate for a superior-subordinate dynamic. Rumors of romantic involvement circulated during the war, fueled by Summersby's youth (in her early 30s) and Eisenhower's (51 at the time), as well as wartime gossip in social circles, but no contemporaneous documentation, such as letters or eyewitness accounts, confirms . Eisenhower's son, John S.D. Eisenhower, and several of Summersby's wartime associates explicitly denied any romance, emphasizing a platonic relationship rooted in professional trust. Postwar analyses highlight the absence of letters, photographs depicting , or third-party corroboration, with Eisenhower's correspondence to consistently affirming his devotion despite marital strains. Summersby's 1975 memoir, Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with , published posthumously after her death from cancer on January 20, 1975, alleged a consummated sexual relationship beginning around 1943, including details of shared beds and emotional dependency. However, the book's claims rely solely on her recollection, written during and financial hardship, without supporting artifacts; Summersby did not oversee its final editing or publication. Her earlier 1948 memoir, Eisenhower Was My Boss, described a deep but non-sexual attachment, suggesting later embellishment possibly influenced by memoir trends or personal bitterness after Eisenhower provided no ongoing support following his 1945 return to the U.S. Historians widely regard the narrative as overstated, with favoring emotional closeness over physical involvement, as Eisenhower's actions—such as prioritizing family reconciliation and avoiding —align with restraint under scrutiny. The lack of proceedings, public acknowledgment, or mutual admissions, combined with Eisenhower's documented fidelity in other contexts, undermines the memoir's uncorroborated assertions, though the relationship's intensity likely provided vital psychological relief during critical operations like D-Day planning.

Controversies Surrounding the Relationship

Summersby's Post-War Claims

In her 1948 memoir Eisenhower Was My Boss, Summersby recounted her wartime role as driver, aide, and companion to Eisenhower, emphasizing a deep professional rapport and personal friendship marked by shared leisure activities such as and bridge, while omitting any assertions of romance or intimacy. Summersby's 1976 posthumous book Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with presented more explicit claims of a romantic involvement that reportedly began in after two years of platonic friendship, evolving into mutual declarations of love and physical attempts at intimacy. She alleged three unsuccessful sexual encounters, attributing Eisenhower's impotence to the dual strains of an unhappy and supreme command responsibilities, with the first attempt occurring amid his complaints about spousal discord. The book further contended that Eisenhower contemplated divorcing Mamie to marry Summersby, citing his discussions of marriage and her own aspirations to bear his child; it referenced a supposed 1945 letter from Eisenhower to General George Marshall outlining divorce plans, which President Harry Truman later recalled receiving and using to dissuade him by warning of career repercussions. Summersby claimed Eisenhower's assistance in her 1946 relocation to the United States and subsequent naturalization reflected commitments to a shared future, though contact persisted sporadically until her 1952 marriage, with an alleged final intimate meeting in her New York apartment. The volume, ghostwritten primarily by Barbara Wyden from Summersby's recordings and notes—with Summersby reviewing approximately 75% before her January 20, 1975, death from cancer—sparked immediate controversy upon release.

Counterarguments and Evidence Assessment

Historians have widely questioned the veracity of Summersby's claims of a sexual with Eisenhower, citing the absence of any contemporary corroborating such as love letters, entries, or eyewitness accounts of intimacy. Eisenhower himself denied any romantic or physical involvement in a 1943 letter to his wife , asserting fidelity amid wartime rumors involving aides like drivers. John Eisenhower, the general's son, dismissed Summersby's allegations in her 1976 memoir Past Forgetting as "highly imaginative or downright false," pointing to 319 letters from Dwight to between 1942 and 1945 that demonstrate unwavering devotion, including expressions like "I’ve been the luckiest man in the world for 26 years." These letters, published in Letters to Mamie (1978), contradict narratives of marital discord, such as unverified claims of a divorce-seeking letter to General George Marshall, which John Eisenhower refuted as inconsistent with Marshall's character and unsupported by archival records. Aides and contemporaries, including Eisenhower's naval aide Harry C. Butcher, reported no romantic entanglement, emphasizing a strictly professional bond amid the stresses of command. , aware of the rumors, expressed no serious concern about infidelity in later interviews, viewing Summersby as a wartime companion rather than a . Summersby's earlier 1948 memoir Eisenhower Was My Boss, co-authored during her financial difficulties, omitted explicit sexual claims, raising questions about retrospective embellishment in Past Forgetting, which was published posthumously after her 1975 death from cancer. The evidentiary burden falls heavily on Summersby's uncorroborated assertions, as no primary documents or independent testimonies substantiate intimacy beyond a close working relationship; many scholars thus conclude the narrative relies on amplified by sensational accounts rather than empirical fact. Eisenhower's documented character as a disciplined, family-oriented further undermines claims of reckless extramarital conduct under intense scrutiny.

Implications for Eisenhower's Reputation

The alleged romantic involvement between and Kay Summersby, particularly as detailed in Summersby's posthumously published Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with Dwight D. Eisenhower (1976), prompted scrutiny of Eisenhower's personal conduct during , raising questions about his fidelity to his wife, , amid the stresses of command. However, the absence of corroborating evidence—such as letters, witnesses, or contemporary records beyond Summersby's unverified assertions—has led most historians to view the claims skeptically, attributing them to Summersby's financial motivations and embellishments rather than factual occurrence. This lack of substantiation minimized reputational harm, preserving Eisenhower's image as a disciplined leader whose emotional reliance on close aides like Summersby reflected wartime necessities rather than moral lapse. During Eisenhower's 1952 presidential campaign, the rumor surfaced as a potential liability, with opponents reportedly considering it for political exploitation, yet it failed to gain traction due to Eisenhower's vehement denials and the intervention of aides who emphasized the nature of the relationship. Biographers such as have noted Eisenhower's interest in historical precedents for overcoming such scandals, underscoring his strategic management of personal vulnerabilities without admitting fault. The controversy thus highlighted vulnerabilities in public figures' but reinforced Eisenhower's for , as no empirical proof emerged to contradict his lifelong correspondence with or his post-war family devotion. Long-term evaluations by military historians, including those analyzing Eisenhower's command style, dismiss the affair narrative as unsubstantiated gossip amplified by Summersby's later writings, which contradicted her earlier, more restrained account in Eisenhower Was My Boss (1948). Rather than tarnishing his legacy, the episode illustrates the challenges of rumor control in high-stakes , where Eisenhower's proven operational successes—overseeing the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, and Allied victory in —eclipsed personal speculations. Contemporary assessments prioritize causal factors like Eisenhower's isolation from family and intense pressures, framing any emotional closeness as adaptive rather than adulterous, thereby upholding his stature as a pragmatic, effective general and president.

Post-War Life

Transition and Emigration

Following the conclusion of hostilities in in May 1945, Summersby remained in , managing an guest house in before returning to the in 1946 while still enlisted. She continued in the U.S. until September 1947, when she separated from the service at the rank of , marking the end of her military career. With assistance from Eisenhower, who had facilitated her earlier commissioning as the only foreign-born officer in the WAC, Summersby had obtained U.S. sometime after the war, enabling her permanent settlement in America. In the immediate postwar period, Summersby briefly worked as a public relations officer in , reflecting an initial attempt to adapt her wartime administrative skills to civilian employment amid economic readjustment challenges for former service members. By late 1947, she relocated to , where she resided at addresses such as 901 Lexington Avenue before moving to , establishing a base for her subsequent endeavors in writing and personal life. This from her British roots to full integration into American society underscored her detachment from postwar Britain, influenced by her wartime experiences and the severing of ties with Eisenhower's circle, though she faced social ostracism in some military-adjacent networks. Her transition involved financial , as she navigated without inherited wealth or established connections beyond her service record.

Marriages and Financial Struggles

Kay Summersby married officer Gordon Thomas Summersby in 1936, adopting his surname; the marriage ended in divorce in 1943. After emigrating to the and naturalizing as a citizen in 1949, she wed stockbroker Reginald H. Morgan—his third marriage—on November 20, 1952, in . The couple honeymooned in St. Croix and resided in , but separated in 1957 amid what Summersby later called an "unfortunate experience," culminating in divorce on March 11, 1958, in . Summersby's post-war transition involved financial hardship, including and near by late 1947, exacerbated by a publicized attempted incident that prompted her compassionate discharge from the in July of that year. Following her 1958 divorce, she sustained herself through episodic employment, such as roles at a , Bergdorf Goodman, and as a fashion consultant for CBS television into the mid-1960s, reflecting ongoing economic instability without substantial inherited or spousal support.

Writing and Later Career

In 1948, Summersby published Eisenhower Was My Boss, a recounting her experiences as driver and aide to during , focusing on professional duties and wartime anecdotes without reference to any romantic involvement. The book, ghostwritten by Frank Kearns, a former U.S. Army officer, sold modestly and established her as a drawing on her military service. Following her emigration to the United States and amid personal challenges, Summersby pursued writing and editing work in New York, supplementing income from public relations roles earlier held in California. Her literary output remained tied to her wartime past, with no evidence of broader commercial success or diversification into other genres. Diagnosed with terminal cancer in late 1973 and given a prognosis of six months, Summersby dictated details of an alleged romantic relationship with Eisenhower for a second memoir, Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with Dwight D. Eisenhower, completed with assistance from ghostwriter Barbara Wyden. Published posthumously in 1976 by Simon & Schuster, the book expanded on claims of intimacy from 1942 onward, contrasting its predecessor's discretion, though it drew skepticism from Eisenhower's associates for lacking corroborating evidence beyond Summersby's account.

Death and Legacy

Final Years and Passing

In 1973, Kay Summersby was diagnosed with and given a of six months to live. Residing in , she outlived this estimate by more than a year, during which she worked on her Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with , dictating portions from her deathbed before its posthumous publication. Summersby died on January 20, 1975, at age 66, from at Southampton Hospital. Following her instructions, she was cremated, and her ashes were scattered over her farm in , .

Awards Received

Kay Summersby was awarded the by Prime Minister in recognition of her service as a driver and aide during . General recommended her for the U.S. for meritorious conduct, but the award was denied by Army Chief of Staff . No other notable honors or decorations are documented beyond standard U.S. military service medals issued to personnel for participation in the European theater.

Historical Evaluation

Historians have largely assessed Summersby's claims of a romantic and sexual relationship with Eisenhower as unsubstantiated, relying primarily on the absence of contemporaneous evidence such as letters, diaries, or eyewitness accounts beyond her own assertions. Her 1948 memoir, Eisenhower Was My Boss, portrayed a close professional companionship without mentioning intimacy, attributing any wartime rumors to speculation fueled by their frequent public proximity as driver and aide. In contrast, Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with Dwight D. Eisenhower, dictated during her final illness and published posthumously in 1976 after editing by Barbara Wyden, introduced explicit details of an affair, including consummation after D-Day on June 6, 1944; however, Summersby did not live to review the final manuscript, raising questions about embellishment for commercial appeal amid her financial difficulties. Eisenhower, informed of the manuscript in 1973, denied the allegations vehemently, offering to testify under oath that no such relationship occurred and threatening libel suits, consistent with his documented marital fidelity despite strains with Mamie Eisenhower during the war. Prominent Eisenhower biographers, including , have rejected the affair narrative as "completely untrue," citing exhaustive review of Eisenhower's papers, staff testimonies, and the general's character as a duty-bound family man unlikely to risk scandal amid commanding Allied forces in from 1942 to 1945. Carlo D'Este similarly dismissed Past Forgetting as "fanciful," noting Eisenhower's aides observed no impropriety despite Summersby's constant presence, and her claims lacked corroboration from peers like Dick Jenson or Mickey McDermott, who described interactions as platonic. While some accounts, such as Jean Edward Smith's biography, lend partial credence based on emotional letters to hinting at loneliness and a 1945 rumor reported by Harry Truman of Eisenhower seeking to marry Summersby, these remain anecdotal without direct proof, and Truman's secondhand report via aide Harry Vaughan was later walked back. The scarcity of —no surviving love letters from Eisenhower, no diary entries confirming intimacy—contrasts with well-documented wartime correspondences, underscoring causal improbability given Eisenhower's high-stakes role and observed discretion. This evaluation highlights Summersby's credibility challenges: her evolving narrative aligned with post-war memoir trends exaggerating personal ties to celebrities for marketability, as seen in her book's restraint versus the sensationalism of Past Forgetting, which capitalized on Eisenhower's 1969 death and her 1975 passing from cancer on January 20. Empirical assessment favors a deep but non-romantic bond forged in shared wartime stresses, where Summersby provided emotional support akin to a confidante, not lover, without undermining Eisenhower's strategic acumen or legacy as . Dissenting views, often in popular media, stem from uncritical acceptance of her deathbed dictation, but rigorous historical standards prioritize verifiable data over self-reported reminiscences prone to or financial incentives. Ultimately, the claims persist as rumor rather than fact, illustrating how personal anecdotes can amplify without evidentiary foundation in biographical scholarship.

References

  1. https://www.inishbeg.com/kay-summersby/
  2. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-28-mn-6970-story.html
  3. https://www.facebook.com/curatoractual/posts/kay-summersby-19081975-was-a-british-woman-best-known-for-being-the-driver-and-p/590149547063780/
  4. https://www.amazon.com/Books-Kay-Summersby/s?rh=n%253A283155%252Cp_27%253AKay%252BSummersby
  5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1998/03/01/with-ike-rumors-were-steamier-than-facts/b9276ce5-1212-4633-9053-93c9fa9ec4ec/
  6. https://www.quora.com/Is-it-now-confirmed-that-Dwight-Eisenhower-had-an-affair-with-Kay-Summersby
  7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7590318/kay-summersby
  8. https://ww2gravestone.com/people/summersby-kathleen-helen-kay/
  9. https://www.dib.ie/biography/summersby-kathleen-helen-kay-a8389
  10. http://potus-geeks.livejournal.com/695461.html
  11. https://militaryhistorynow.com/2015/11/20/baby-you-can-drive-my-car-the-curious-relationship-between-general-eisenhower-and-kay-summersby/
  12. https://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower/family-life
  13. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/21/archives/kay-summersby-morgan-dies-eisenhower-confidante-in-war.html
  14. https://time.com/archive/6776444/historical-notes-kays-war/
  15. https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2002/nr02-09
  16. https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/2019-07/Nazi_Japanese_Records.pdf
  17. http://armchairgeneral.com/the-myth-of-ike-and-kay-summersby-part-iii.htm
  18. https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/29/archives/john-eisenhower-fighting-reports-his-father-had-affair-during-war.html
  19. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5456365/JAMES-MACMANUS-Einsenhower-did-love-affair-British-model.html
  20. https://potus-geeks.livejournal.com/695461.html
  21. https://www.nytimes.com/1977/02/13/archives/past-forgetting-kiss-and-tell.html
  22. https://susanalbert.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Biographical-Afterword-TGW.pdf
  23. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/mamie-eisenhower-in-world-war-ii.htm
  24. https://www.gettysburgtimes.com/opinion/staff_columns/article_4f675bcd-02cb-5caa-8c2f-ace7d2c1bcf0.html
  25. http://armchairgeneral.com/the-myth-of-ike-and-kay-summersby-part-iv-conclusion.htm
  26. http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2017/08/author-interview-susan-wittig-albert-on.html
  27. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/david-petraeus-eisenhower-affair-224850
  28. https://www.nytimes.com/1952/11/20/archives/kay-summersby-to-wed-eisenhowers-secretary-in-war-to-marry.html
  29. https://archive.org/details/eisenhowerwasmyb017978mbp
  30. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1930599.Eisenhower_Was_My_Boss
  31. https://onesearch.library.wwu.edu/discovery/fulldisplay/alma99111355190001451/01ALLIANCE_WWU:WWU
  32. https://archive.org/details/bwb_W8-ARA-275
  33. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/19/2180914/-Books-So-Bad-They-re-Good-Kay-Summersby-s-Wartime-Mystery
  34. https://www.quora.com/What-was-the-relationship-between-Dwight-Eisenhower-and-Kay-Summersby
  35. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/06/us/eisenhower-letters-hint-at-affair-with-aide.html
  36. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eisenhower-john-eisenhower/
  37. https://booktrib.com/2018/07/18/ike-and-kay-a-world-war-ii-love-affair/
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.