Dennis Wheatley's Homes

Joan went house-hunting to find them a new permanent home, and her choice was Chatsworth Court.

As DW later recounted, in January 1941 the blitz was still in full swing, and so many people had moved out of London that the choice of flats was almost unlimited. For example, at Chatsworth Court only fifty of the two hundred flats were still occupied.

Joan took DW to see one on the ground floor, and although he protested there wasn't room to 'swing a cat', he was persuaded to take it on. It had a sitting room large enough for six people to sit in comfortably, and a small round table in the window where they could seat four for a meal. It had a kitchen where they could knock-up breakfast and dinner if they were on their own, but there was also an excellent – for war-time – restaurant in the basement where they could give dinner parties.

Diana and Bill took flats in the same block. DW still retained No. 151 to use as an office, but in February 1941, Chatsworth Court became their new home.

Work on his War Papers and his latest novel (The Sword of Fate) continued, and then his 'big break' came, and as is recounted elsewhere, he was recruited to become one of the Country’s top secret 'Deception Planners'. This lasted from December 1941 to the end of 1944.

One of DW's jobs was to entertain those relevant to 'the cause', and much of the entertainment took place at Chatsworth Court. For example on New Year's Eve 1943, DW threw a party for over a hundred of his friends. They included General 'Pug' Ismay, Churchill's chief military assistant, over a dozen other Generals, Admirals and Air Marshalls alongside members of DW's own team and representatives of ISSB, MI5, STRATS and FOPS. The party began at nine and the last of the guests only left at three in the morning, when DW was drawn to one side and given his next mission – to help prepare the cover story for the Casablanca Conference.

When the Wheatleys finally left Chatsworth Court for Grove Place in June 1945, once all the furniture had been sent down, DW and Joan held a cocktail party for their friends on the bare boards.

References : 'Drink and Ink' pages 211, 232. The Deception Planners p 12,22,68,75,109,128,131,134,137,143,165,186,225