Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll

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Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll (11 May 1901 – 24 January 1941) was a British noble who became a notable and controversial figure in 1930s Kenya. Born in Mayfair, London, he was the eldest son of Victor Hay, the 21st Earl of Erroll. After a rocky education at Eton, he worked briefly in diplomacy, including time in Berlin.

He married socialite Lady Idina Sackville in 1923, a union that caused a major society scandal. The couple moved to Kenya in 1924, living first at a bungalow called Slains near the Aberdare Range. Idina was eight years his senior, and their marriage ended in divorce in 1930 amid financial and personal tensions. He then married Edith Maude Ramsay-Hill (known as Molly) in 1930.

In Kenya, Erroll joined the island of colonial elites known for extravagant living and soon became part of the so‑called Happy Valley set. He and Molly lived at Oserian on Lake Naivasha. In 1934 he joined Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, and he later led the Convention of Associations in Kenya. He also entered politics, being elected to the Legislative Council for Kiambu in 1939. With the outbreak of World War II, he served as a captain in the Kenya Regiment and became Military Secretary for East Africa in 1940. Molly Erroll died in 1939, during his time in Africa.

In 1940 Erroll began an affair with Diana Broughton, wife of Sir Jock Delves Broughton. On 24 January 1941, Erroll was shot dead near Nairobi in a high-profile case that captivated Britain during wartime. Sir Jock Delves Broughton was accused of the murder, tried, and acquitted in 1941; the case remained controversial and has sparked much debate over the years. Delves Broughton later died by suicide in England about a year later.

Josslyn Hay is buried in Kiambu, Kenya. After his death, his earldom passed to his daughter from his first marriage, Diana Hay, who became the 23rd Countess of Erroll. The barony of Kilmarnock passed to his brother Gilbert, who later changed his surname to Boyd.