Una Pope-Hennessy

Who was Una Pope-Hennessy?

Dame Una Constance Pope-Hennessy, DBE, née Birch, was a British writer, historian and biographer. She was the daughter of Sir Arthur Birch, and married Major Richard Pope-Hennessy in 1910.

During the First World War, she was a member of the Central Prisoners of War Committee of the British Red Cross Society. For this work, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1920 civilian war honours. Her two sons were both notable in their own right: James Pope-Hennessy was a writer and Sir John Pope-Hennessy an art historian.