• Flynn was known for his good looks, charm and playboy lifestyle
• Married three times and famed for role in The Adventures of Robin Hood
• But five unseen letters reveal one woman didn’t fall for his affection
• Marjorie Bickham met Flynn in 1934 pre-fame, but she wasn’t keen 

He was known for his good looks, charm and playboy lifestyle, but never-before-seen love letters written by Hollywood legend Errol Flynn to a mystery woman he met at the start of his career tell a very different story.  

The collection of five letters, which are set to go under the hammer, were penned to Marjorie Bickham, who Flynn, then 25, met while performing at the Malvern Festival in Worcestershire in 1934.

Flynn, who was most famous for swashbuckling films like 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, was a member of Birmingham Rep when he met Miss Bickham – just one year before he married his first wife, French actress Lili Damita in 1935.

The letters were kept by Marjorie’s great niece, but whether a romance blossomed between the pair remains a mystery. The family of the then 20-year-old Marjorie Bickham revealed that while she was ‘flattered’ by Flynn’s love letters, she had always ‘remained lukewarm’ towards him. Her nephew, Nicolas Bickham, 71, who lives in the same house his aunt was born in, said:

“The letters are very insightful as to Errol Flynn’s intentions; however, my aunt was not as keen as he was. When she spoke about them, she would always say she was flattered by the attention but remained lukewarm towards him. Nothing whatsoever romantic ever happened between them. I don’t think her opinion changed even when he went on to become a huge star.”

He continued: ‘My aunt was a very attractive and fun woman and that obviously attracted Errol Flynn to her. They met when he was performing in the Malvern Festival which was a hugely social affair.

‘My aunt was just 20 and was an artist and often mingled with actors and fellow artists.’

Miss Bickham went on to marry her husband, Brigadier Humphrey Kemball, in 1944.

He received the Military Cross after he was injured while fighting in Dunkirk for the 1st Battalion Lancashire Regiment.

The couple never had children but lived all over the world, moving for Brigadier Kemball’s work in the military.

She died aged in June 1997 aged 83 while her husband passed away last year aged 94.

Nick Davies, of Fieldings Auctioneers in Stourbridge, West Mids., who is handling the sale of the letters, which are expected to sell for around £600 on July 4, said: ‘The letters are very flowery and very much in the style of the period.

‘I think they are a fascinating insight into Errol Flynn and how his mind worked and his persistence.’

The letters, one written by Flynn on a train to Edinburgh with her dubbed ‘Margy’, reads: ‘I left Malvern thinking of you – drove to the middle of England with you still along and reached the border and you were still most insistently present.’

Another reads: ‘Funny how you can’t be candid or sincere in a letter. I can’t anyway. 

‘There’s so much I’d like to say to you. Perhaps I could if I knew for certain you wanted to hear it.

‘I’m going to bed – I know I shall think of you until I go to sleep. Night Margy. Errol.’

Another reads: ‘Do you think you might snatch a brief moment from the hilarious Mad Whirl of Pleasure [play] to drop me a line?’.

His final letter refers to a planned meeting and meal between the pair in London, which signs off: ‘If you’re out on anything I’ll leave a message and ring again. Gosh I’m keen to see you!’

The letters were all addressed to Miss Bickham, who lived at Hilltop Fruit farm in Ledbury, Worcs.

Flynn was the 1930s action hero who starred in Hollywood blockbusters The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood.

He is most famous for his leading role in The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Flynn, who married three times, had a reputation for womanising and hard drinking and he died in 1959, aged just 50.

Birmingham Rep productions were an annual feature at the Malvern Festival in the 1930s – and the troupe included actors destined to make it very big in America.

Flynn shared Birmingham billing with Claude Rains, who also appeared in The Adventures of Robin Hood as evil Prince John.

He and Flynn also appeared in 1937 classic The Prince and the Pauper. 

Flynn was married three times. His first wife was actress Lili Damita, whom he was with between 1935 and 1942. The pair had a son, Sean Flynn, who died in 1971. 

He then married Nora Eddington from 1943 until 1949 and the couple had two daughters, Deirdre and Rory.

His final wife was Patrice Wymore from 1950 until his death in 1959, with whom he had one daughter, Arnella Roma.

FROM ERROL, WITH LOVE: WHAT THE LETTERS SAID
‘I left Malvern thinking of you – drove to the middle of England with you still along and reached the border and you were still most insistently present.’

‘Funny how you can’t be candid or sincere in a letter. I can’t anyway. There’s so much I’d like to say to you. Perhaps I could if I knew for certain you wanted to hear it. I’m going to bed – I know I shall think of you until I go to sleep. Night Margy. Errol.’

Do you think you might snatch a brief moment from the hilarious Mad Whirl of Pleasure (play) to drop me a line?’

‘If you’re out on anything I’ll leave a message and ring again. Gosh I’m keen to see you!’

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