Pressure and the power of love

YOU may not be familiar with the name Kathleen Helen MacCarthy-Morrogh—otherwise known as Kay Summersby—but after reading this or going to see the movie Pressure, which is out this month, everyone will know her, and furthermore, be asking the same question I did: Who was this Cork girl who ended up becoming personal secretary to Dwight D Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States.

The film Pressure is a World War II drama that follows the intense 72-hour countdown leading up to the D-Day landings in June 1944, due to conflicting weather predictions from American meteorologist, Krick and Britain’s Jim Scaggs. Here lies the ‘pressure’ and ultimately the crux of the story. But for me the big question was this: Who was Eisenhower’s Irish secretary? This woman he appeared to trust and who had his ear. This confidante who was helping maintain calm when Eisenhower needed to make the most important decision of his life and his entire career. Whoever she was, she had influence, that much I know!

Kathleen was born on November 23, 1908 in Béal an Dá Chab (Ballydehob, County Cork), to Donald Florence MacCarthy-Morrogh and Vera Mary MacCarthy-Morrogh and was one of five siblings. Her father was a retired lieutenant colonel of the Royal Munster Fusiliers, who Kathleen described as being ‘black Irish,’ and her mother as English, although she was actually born in Wales.

She grew up on Inish Beg—a small island near Baltimore and Skibbereen—with what appears to be a somewhat sheltered childhood where, in her own words, she spent hours out riding horses or sailing up and down the river and was taught by a succession of governesses. I have visions of Captain Von Trapp’s children from the Sound of Music being marched around a stately home. People called her ‘Skib’ because she came from near Skibbereen, but I doubt she was your average Irish immigrant who moved to London and spent some time working in photography and as a film extra, eventually becoming a model.

A woman of substance

I feel the scene is set, that she was always meant to be a woman of substance. She was a fine-looking woman it has to be said, so no shock then that she did some modelling. She got married in 1936 to British Army officer Gordon Thomas Summersby, and when Britain entered World War II in 1939, Kay, as she was then known, joined the British Mechanised Transport Corps, driving an ambulance throughout the London Blitz in 1940/41. She was seemingly highly skilled at navigating the streets of London during blackouts and fog. So, when the US joined the Allies in December 1941, Kay became one of many MTC drivers assigned to high-ranking American military officers—in short she became Eisenhower’s personal driver and within a short space of time, his secretary, until after the war was over in November 1945.

They worked closely together while based at his home Telegraph Cottage in Warren Road, Kingston-upon-Thames. Eisenhower valued her efficiency, discretion, and composure under pressure. She acted as a calming presence and gatekeeper during high-stress military decisions. It was because of her reliability and close working relationship that Eisenhower brought her onto his official staff, transitioning her duties from chauffeuring to working as his confidential aide and personal secretary. It was during this time that Eisenhower rose in rank to General of the Army and commander of the European Theatre.

Following her promotion to personal secretary it became apparent to some working alongside them that they shared a deep connection and were extremely close. In the film, Kay is portrayed by BAFTA winning and Academy Award nominated Irish actress, Kerry Condon of Banshees of Inisherin fame. Eisenhower is played by Academy Award winner, Brendan Fraser. Although the film does not allude to any kind of physical relationship, what we do see is the closeness, the mutual respect. But of course, me being me and my overly inquisitive mind, I needed to know more about this Irish woman, so I found myself down a bit of Kay Summersby rabbit hole.

Down the rabbit hole

She divorced her first husband before the war ended and remarried a Wall Street stockbroker, Reginald Morgan in 1952 after becoming an American citizen. That marriage also ended in 1958. She had no children. She wrote two memoirs. The first, Eisenhower Was My Boss in 1948, which maintained a strictly professional account of their working relationship. However, almost three decades later, she penned Past Forgetting: My Love Affair with Dwight D Eisenhower. It was explicit about there being a romance, although she also said they had not consummated their romantic relationship. She was dying of cancer and Eisenhower had already died in 1969. 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 I omitted many things, changed some details, glossed over others to disguise as best I could the intimacy that had grown between us. It was better that way.” By the book’s account the affair mostly consisted of ‘stolen kisses’ during walks or on aeroplanes, holding hands, and horseback riding or golfing together.

Kay died of cancer at age 66 on January 20, 1975, at her home in Southampton, Long Island. I guess by then she had nothing to lose by her honesty. There aren’t many contradictory accounts of the couple’s relationship. Democrat President Harry S Truman, for example, is said to have claimed that Eisenhower asked for permission from the military authorities to divorce his wife and marry Summersby. But, as historians have pointed out, there are no records to back up this suggestion. In fact, it is said that Eisenhower asked for permission to bring his wife to Europe. Whether Summersby consummated a romance with Eisenhower during the war is unknown, as there is no definitive evidence as to the matter.

But if we are to believe her story then it is the true story of the passionate, moving, secret love affair between General Dwight D Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, and Kay Summersby, the beautiful Irish fashion model who was his driver in wartime London, his staff aide, by his side through every crisis and high-level meeting of the war and the woman he loved.

A captivating tale

Written by Kay Summersby-Morgan herself, Past Forgetting is the intimate account of a relationship that began, haltingly, in 1942, when Kay was assigned to drive the then unknown two-star general, and ended in heartbreak when Ike, victor and war hero, returned home to face a disapproving General Marshall, the adoring American public, Mrs Eisenhower and the possibility of becoming President of the United States. Yet Past Forgetting is not a bitter or malicious book, it is the story of two people deeply in love, sharing together the great experiences of World War II.

Here are intimate accounts of Ike at play and at work; raging against Field Marshal Montgomery; displaying his famous temper against Patton; occasionally revealing to Kay the lonely responsibility of a commander who must send his men into battle to die, and sharing the tense hours before D-Day in intimacy with Kay. Here too are portraits and memories of the great men whom Kay met at Ike’s side—Churchill, Roosevelt, King George VI and De Gaulle.

Kay Summersby-Morgan has a perfect gift for intimate detail, an eye for men, places and events, total recall and a marvellous wit. From what I have read, this is the true story of two people in love, snatching a few moments of happiness in the midst of the cares of war and command. The Eisenhower who emerges from these pages is a man of charm, wit and passion, deeply affectionate and loving, torn between his loyalties at home and his love for Kay. More than a document, this is a beautiful, powerful love story.

L J Sexton, mum of four, returned to university to pursue her passion for the written word. She achieved her Honours Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing and hasn't stopped writing since. Lyn is born of Irish parents and lived in Donegal for eight years. She is also the press officer for Irish Minstrels CCÉ music group based in St Roch’s Secondary School