The Whisperer

A high-society love affair, between Lord Montagu and his secretory Elanor Thornton, kept secret to avoid scandal, inspired a public display of adoration that has become one of the motoring world's most famous symbols.

For his part, Montagu was so infatuated with "Thorn" that he asked her to model for an emblem to place on the bonnet of his Rolls.

He turned to, Charles Sykes, an artist, sculptor, and mutual friend, to craft a figure of her in fluttering robes, pressing a finger to her lips to symbolise the secret of their love.

Officially called The Spirit of Ecstasy, but known as The Whisperer by those who were party to the secret affair, the symbol would go on to inspire subsequent designs for Rolls-Royce emblems.