Rosamund Dashwood

Rosamund Dashwood (1924, Devonshire, UK – 2007, Squamish, BC) was the daughter of celebrated English writer E. M. Delafield, and was one of the top female masters runners in Canadian history.

Dashwood was born in 1924 to Major Arthur Paul Dashwood, an engineer who built the massive docks in Hong Kong Harbour, and E.M. Delafield, the bestselling author who wrote over forty novels and screenplays, including Diary of a Provincial Lady.

During World War II, she joined the WAAF and worked with the newly invented and still top secret RADAR. After the war, she attended Somerville College and met Leslie Truelove, whom she married. The couple had four sons: Paul, Simon, Patrick, and Michael.

She died on April 3, 2007, at the age of 83, in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada.

Provincial Daughter

In 1961, Dashwood published Provincial Daughter, a light-hearted continuation of her mother's work. Stylistically similar to Diary of a Provincial Lady, Provincial Daughter is Dashwood's semi-autobiograhical account of domestic life in the 1950s. In the foreword to the novel, Dashwood wrote:

It seemed natural to write it in the same idiom, but if the result seems to any reader too imitative, or even plagiaristic, I can only ask their forgiveness, as the original Provincial Lady would, I am sure, most warmly have given hers.

The novel was a success and was re-issued in 2002 by Virago.

Running

Dashwood took up long-distance running at middle age, partly as a way to deal with the death of her husband, who had died of a heart attack while running a marathon.

Despite her late start, she went on to have a remarkable career in which she set numerous age-class world records and Canadian records. Highlights of her career include setting the world record for the fastest 10K by a woman aged 65 or older at 46:18, and winning four gold medals at the World Seniors' Games. A talented cyclist and swimmer as well, she completed several triathlons. She also competed in relay triathlons, often with teammates who were many years younger.

She continued to run into her seventies.