Audrey Mosson
Elsie Audrey Mosson (3 September 1920, Preston – 1 September 2009, Hastings) was an English teen celebrity and later a professional dancer.[1][2] She was crowned the 10th Railway Queen of Great Britain at the Railway Carnival and Pageant held at Belle 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.
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.
Audrey Mosson features in the children's book Gracie Fairshaw and the Mysterious Guest by author Susan Brownrigg. Published by Uclan Publishing July 2020.
References
- ^ 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.