In mid-1944, Willoughby Norrie — who’d served as an officer in the British Army for more than three decades, and fought in both World Wars — was appointed Governor of South Australia. (Australia was a self-governing dominion of the British Empire at that time.)
Later the same year, he relocated his family and staff to the South Australian capital of Adelaide.
In December of 1945, Norrie and his second wife, Patricia, welcomed a baby girl.
Her name?
Annabel Mary Adelaide — third given name in honor of the city of Adelaide (which was also her birthplace, of course).
The city had been named in 1836 after Queen Adelaide, the German-born wife of King William IV.
(Norrie also had five older children: Diana, Rosemary, George, Guy, and Sarah.)
Sources:
- “Governor’s Baby Named.” Chronicle [Adelaide, SA] 3 Jan. 1946: 26.
- Willoughby Norrie, 1st Baron Norrie – Wikipedia
Image: Adapted from Annabel Norrie (State Library of South Australia)
