Bright young things

Stephen Tennant, William Walton, Georgia Sitwell, Zita Jungman, Rex Whistler and Cecil Beaton at Wilsford, 1927

The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw elaborate fancy dress parties, went on elaborate treasure hunts through nighttime London, drank heavily and used drugs—all of which was enthusiastically covered by journalists such as Tom Driberg. They inspired a number of writers, including Nancy Mitford (Highland Fling), Anthony Powell (A Dance to the Music of Time), Henry Green (Party Going) and the poet John Betjeman (A Subaltern's Love Song). Evelyn Waugh's 1930 novel Vile Bodies, adapted as the 2003 film Bright Young Things, is a satirical look at this scene. Cecil Beaton began his career in photography by documenting this set, of which he was a member.

Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton CBE (5 July 1904 – 27 February 1994) was a British writer, scholar, and dilettante. Acton was born at Villa La Pietra, near Florence, Italy. His father was a successful art collector and dealer, and his prominent Anglo-Italian family included the historian Lord Acton, and, more distantly, Sir John Acton, Commodore and prime minister of Naples under Ferdinand IV.

John Patrick Douglas Balfour, 3rd Baron Kinross (1904–1976) was a Scottish historian and writer noted for his biography of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other works on Islamic history.

Robert Byron (26 February 1905 – 24 February 1941) was a British travel writer, best known for his travelogue The Road to Oxiana. He was also a noted writer, art critic and historian.

The Honourable (Ralph) Edward Gathorne-Hardy (4 June 1901 – 18 June 1978) was a British Bohemian socialite.

The third son of Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 3rd Earl of Cranbrook by his wife Lady Dorothy Boyle, the daughter of David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow, he was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. One of the group designated by the press the 'Bright Young People' in the 1920s, he shared a flat at 39 Maddox Street in London with Brian Howard, which was so run-down that fungus grew on the dilapidated staircase. Although he was a respected antiquarian, specialising in 18th century literature, and worked for the booksellers Elkin Mathews, he remained impecunious, largely living off his elder brother, Lord Cranbrook. He also worked at various colleges and for the British Council After 1935, he lived in Athens, Cairo and Lebanon, returning to England in the late 1960s in poor health. He died aged 77 on 18 June 1978.

(Alexander) Gavin Henderson, 2nd Baron Faringdon (20 March 1902 – 29 January 1977) was a British Labour politician.
Described by David Cargill as a "roaring pansy", Henderson was known for his effeminate demeanour, once opening a speech in the House of Lords with the words "My dears" instead of "My Lords".

Brian Christian de Claiborne Howard (13 March 1905 – 15 January 1958) was an English poet and later a writer for the New Statesman.

Arthur Tilden Jeffress (born 1905, Brentford, Middlesex; died 1961) was colorful and influential gallery owner, collector, and patron of the arts in post war Britain.^[1] In the pre-war years he was one of Britain's Bright Young Things. He died in 1961 and left his art collection to the Tate and Southampton City Art Gallery.

Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century.

Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet (6 December 1892 – 4 May 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell; Just like his siblings, he devoted his life to art and literature.

Stephen James Napier Tennant (21 April 1906 – 28 February 1987) was a British socialite known for his decadent lifestyle. He was called "the brightest" of the "Bright Young People".

Reginald John "Rex" Whistler (24 June 1905 – 18 July 1944) was a British artist, designer and illustrator.