Flora Robson
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Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE (28 March 1902–7 July 1984) was an Oscar-nominated English actress, renowned as one of the great character players and one of Britain's theatrical grandes dames.
She was born in South Shields, of Scottish descent. Many of her forebears were engineers, mostly in shipping. Her father, who was a major influence in her life was a ships engineer, prior to retiring and moving from South Shields to Welwyn Garden City. She was one of a large family, with two brothers, John and David and sisters Eliza (Lila) Margaret (Darge) Helen (Nellie) and Shela. Three of the sisters, Flora, Lila and Darge remained unmarried. Very early in life her father discovered that Flora had a talent for recitation and from the age of 6 she was taken around by horse and carriage to recite, and to compete in recitations. She grew very used to winning and was always distraught if she lost.
This established a pattern which remained with her. She acted almost into her eighties, latterly for American television films largely, but in her later years she also gave several outstanding performances for British t.v. including in "The Shrimp and the Anemone". Sadly much of this material is unavailable, including a fine "Mother Courage" which she did for television in days when intellectual content was not forbidden. She also continued to act in the West End theatre, in such plays as "Ring around the Moon" "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "The Three Sister". She saw herself primarily as a stage actress and had that sadness that many such have, that the performance, once over, is gone forever however fine.
Both the BBC and ITV made special programmes to celebrate her 80th birthday. Her private life was largely focused on her large family of sisters, nephews and nieces, who used the home in Wykeham Terrace Brighton, which she shared with sisters Darge and Shela as a hub of activities.
Robson made her stage debut in 1921 at the age of nineteen. Standing 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), but decidedly lacking the glamorous looks of a leading lady, she specialized in character roles, notably that of Queen Elizabeth I in both Fire Over England (1937) and The Sea Hawk (1940 film).
At the age of thirty-two, Robson played the old Empress Elizabeth in Alexander Korda's Catherine the Great (1934).
After the war, demonstrating her range, she appeared in Holiday Camp (1947), the first of a series of films which featured the very ordinary Huggett family; as Sister Philippa in Black Narcissus (1947); as a magistrate in Goodtime Girl (1948); as a prospective Labour MP in Frieda (1947); and in costume melodrama, Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948).
Her success in Hollywood brought her wider recognition.
She was created a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1952, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1960, an award which was partly for her charity work, largely un-noted, but which she did until her death, often for small and rather obscure charities, rather than the grand ones which would have given her more publicity. This was part of her Christian upbringing and her sense that she should "give something back".
She died in Brighton of cancer at the age of 82, never having married or had children. The sisters with whom she shared her life and her house died around the same time: Shela shortly before her in 1984, and Margaret on February 1, 1985. There is a plaque on their house in Wykeham Terrace, Dyke Road, Brighton, and also one in the doorway of the church of St. Nicholas, just up the hill from their house and of which Flora was a great supporter.
