Sylvia and Charles on their wedding day
Basil Brooke’s sister, the lovely Sylvia Brooke, with whom all the officers of the 10th Hussars were enamoured, spent much of the war in Ireland. She was a keen follower of the Irish hunts and a regular guest at Powerscourt in County Wicklow. In 1920, she married the Honourable Charles Mulholland, son and heir of the 2nd Baron Dunleath of Ballywalter. His brother Henry had six years previously married Sylvia’s younger sister Sheelah, with Charles as best man and Sylvia as bridesmaid. Mulholland was Captain in the 11th Hussars and Military Secretary to Field Marshal French, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The couple’s wedding took place in London on 26 February 1920, and the bride stole all hearts with her beauty and Irish charm.
Charles and Sylvia settled in Howth, county Dublin in the summer of 1920 and soon after began expecting their first child. Unfortunately, Sylvia fell victim to severe nausea and vomiting, which continued throughout the pregnancy. She was admitted to a private clinic in Dublin, where she died from dehydration, exhaustion, and cardiac problems on 19 May 1921 when seven months pregnant. Her funeral was held at Colebrooke Church near the place of her birth in County Fermanagh.
