Jane Beadon

Vera Jane Siddons Beadon, formerly Jarvis and Whigham, (née Corby; 4 December 1913 – 30 June 1999) was a Scottish socialite, heiress, and actress. She was known as the leading witness in the internationally publicized 1963 divorce case between her stepdaughter and stepson-in-law, Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll and Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll. Beadon, who was accused of having an affair with the Duke of Argyll by her stepdaughter, successfully sued the duchess for libel, slander, and conspiracy to suborn perjury. Beadon testified in court on behalf of the duke, presenting evidence supporting the duke's claim that the duchess had engaged in extramarital affairs. At the time of her death in 1999, she was the last surviving participant in the Argyll divorce case.

Biography Beadon was born Vera Jane Siddons Corby in Aberdeen on 4 December 1913, the daughter of John Siddons Corby, who invented the Corby gentleman's trouser press. She was a descendant of the Welsh actress Sarah Siddons and a relative of the Kemble family. Whigham was thirty-four years her senior, and his daughter was older than Beadon. On 31 October 1956, twenty months after the death of Whigham's wife, they married at Caxton Hall in London. She presented evidence in court against her stepdaughter on behalf of the duke. She was the last surviving figure of the divorce case.

In February 1965, she married Wing Commander Clive Beadon, an officer in the Royal Air Force who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service as a bomber pilot in World War II. The couple honeymooned at her late husband's mansion in Cable Beach, Nassau.