Florence Desmond was an English actress, comedian and impersonator. Born Florence Dawson in London in 1905, she began her stage career at the age of ten and, on leaving school, started a long and successful career in the theatre. In 1928, Florence toured the U.S. and Canada with Noël Coward and Beatrice Lillie. After returning to London, she developed an act with songs and impersonations of famous stars, including Greta Garbo, Jimmy Durante, Gracie Fields, and Marlene Dietrich. Florence also appeared in many popular British films of the 1930s. In 1941, she starred with Max Miller and Vera Lynn in Apple Sauce, a revue which ran for over 400 performances at the London Palladium. She retired from show business in 1954 and died in 1993, aged 87.
Florence was married twice, first to the aviator Tom Campbell Black from 1935–1936 and, after Black’s death, to aviator and insurance broker Charles Hughesdon from 1937. For several years during the Second World War, she and Charles Hughesden lived and farmed at Pollards Cross.
You can see an interview with Florence in her role as a local farmer in the film section of this website.
Here is a rather risqué song that Florence recorded in 1940, during her Hempstead years. The reference to “Sir John” is to Sir John Anderson, the minister responsible for air raid precautions, for whom the Anderson shelter was named. “Mr Morrison” refers to Herbert Morrison, the Labour MP who was Home Secretary in Churchill’s wartime coalition government.