Audrey Mosson
Audrey Mosson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Elsie Audrey Mosson 3 September 1920 Preston, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 1 September 2009 (aged 88) Hastings, England , United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Celebrity, dancer, Railway Queen |
| Known for | 10th inductee of Railway Queen of Great Britain ' |
Elsie Audrey Mosson[note 1] (3 September 1920, Preston – 1 September 2009, Hastings) was an English teen celebrity and later a professional dancer.[1][2]
Biography[edit]
Mosson was born in Preston, Lancashire, she was crowned the 10th Railway Queen of Great Britain at the Railway Carnival and Pageant held at 12Belle Vue, Manchester in August 1935 when she was 15 years old.[1] Later in 1935, she turned on the Blackpool Illuminations, an annual lights festival in Blackpool.[3] 50 years later, she again turned on the Blackpool Illuminations alongside actress Joanna Lumley.[4]
In 1936, she travelled to the Soviet Union on a peace visit and met Joseph Stalin.[1]
She made her stage debut with the Blackpool Tower Children's Ballet.[5]
Audrey and her two sisters all married on the same day at a triple wedding at St Peter's, Blackpool in 1940. It was also their parents' wedding anniversary.[6]
A blue plaque was unveiled celebrating the achievements of Audrey Mosson at her former family home, Lonsdale Road, on 20th May, 2023. [7]
Popular culture[edit]
Mosson features in the children's books Gracie Fairshaw and the Mysterious Guest and Gracie Fairshaw and the Trouble at the Tower by author Susan Brownrigg.[8][9]
Notes[edit]
- ^ also, mistakenly, Audrey Mossom in some sources
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Shenton, Kenneth (1 October 2009). "Audrey Mosson: Railway Queen of Great Britain who was entertained by Stalin on a peace trip to the Soviet Union". The Independent. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ^ "Lives Remembered". Daily Telegraph. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ^ "Blackpool Illuminations". The Electrical Journal. 115. Benn Bros., Limited: 351. 1935. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
Miss Elsie Audrey Mosson, the Railway Queen of Great Britain, performed the inaugural ceremony. The display is to be continued for five weeks and will cost £16 000. It is expected that about 3 000 000 visitors will be attracted to the resort ...
- ^ "Who Switched On Blackpool Illuminations". Blackpool Lancashire's Seaside Town. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ^ "Audrey Mossom: Railway Queen of Great Britain who was entertained by". The Independent. 2009-09-30. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ Triple Wedding Aka Blackpool (1940), retrieved 2023-05-22
- ^ "Blue plaque for Blackpool Queen". Blackpool Gazette. 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ Brownrigg, Susan (2020). Gracie Fairshaw and the mysterious guest. Jenny Czerwonka. Preston, England. ISBN 978-1-912979-34-9. OCLC 1180171451.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "GRACIE FAIRSHAW AND THE TROUBLE AT THE TOWER – UCLan Publishing". uclanpublishing.com. Retrieved 2021-09-03.