Mum’s the word for headstone tribute
AVALLEY woman has published a memoir about her late mother’s “amazing” life as a dancer, in a bid to fund a headstone for her brother who died in childhood.
Loraine Platt, from Helmshore, wrote the book during the first lockdown and hopes it will pay for a gravestone for her brother Clive, who died when she was just a little girl.
Clive William Marshall, who had Down Syndrome, was just three when he passed away in April 1965.
He is buried in an unmarked grave in Accrington Cemetery.
The family had been unable to afford a headstone at the time of his death, and the idea is that the book will enable Loraine’s mum Irene Marshall to posthumously give her son a memorial.
She has chosen a headstone with the inscription “Cherished memories of a much loved baby brother - Clive William Marshall - always loved, never forgotten, forever missed.”
Irene was born in 1919, and the book details her life story and career as a tap and acrobatic dancer.
Its title ‘Brains in your
Feet’ references a comment about her abilities made by a teacher.
It is written from notes taken by Loraine’s late sister Connie, during conversations she had with her mum during the time Irene was looking after their father Robert, who had suffered a stroke.
Loraine, who lives with husband Duncan, found the notes when having a clearout during the first lockdown and felt penning the book was a way for her mum to indirectly finance the headstone.
The book focuses in particular on Irene’s early days of performing in the 1930s.
Loraine said Irene, who took the stage name Rene Rickard, was a naturalborn performer.
“She started as a threeyear-old performing for the family,” she said.
“My grandad William Duffy worked three jobs to pay for her to have dancing lessons; he said she was just born to perform - whatever you showed her to do she could do it.
“To help practice he used to hold a brush handle for her to do the back bends over.
“My grandfather instilled in all his family that you always do your best in whatever it is you are doing and you never give up.
“This attitude, along with my grandfather’s guidance, selflessness and determination, ensured that my mother achieved her dream.”
Irene enrolled at a stage school in Manchester at the age of 12, before joining a pantomime in Sheffield at 14 where she was part of the flying ballet in Aladdin.
In 1935 she got a telegram to be at Manchester bus station to travel to London, where she got a permanent job in a professional dance troupe.
The book also recalls tales from this period with what she called the Theatre Girls Club, where for one guinea a week she got breakfast at 8, lunch at 1, high tea at 4, and a fivecourse dinner at 7, seven days a week - a far cry from her two up, two down in Accrington.
Irene, who died suddenly in 1996, was still performing in later life, putting on a show alongside special needs children and comic entertainer Jimmy Clitheroe, at a local care home.
Writing brought Loraine some comfort during a difficult lockdown, with her son Brett’s family - including young grandchildren Georgia, Harrison, and Amelia - moving out after staying with her; and her other son Dan, a paramedic, being on the front line.
She said: “Finding my mother’s memories and deciding to write her life story helped me a great deal during very difficult times. I decided to write it as a book and I sent it off to two publishers in London, and six weeks later they both responded saying they loved it, but both of them wanted too much money.
“The purpose I’m doing it for is not for me to be a best-seller or for me to make any money. I just want to sell enough to buy this headstone, in my mother’s memory.”
She found a friend of a friend who would publish the book and started selling it to friends and family, as well as in Rawtenstall gift shop LUVINIT.
She said the response has been phenomenal, especially considering this was her first book.
Loraine spent 23 years working with special needs children and only retired last week from her job working at Haslingden Community Link Nursery.
She says her brother’s death had a profound effect on her, which is why she dedicated her career to helping children with special educational needs.
Loraine, who is now set to train a guide dog puppy alongside husband Duncan, says she is proud of the finished product.
“I thought I’m proud of it now, I’ve done a good job,” she said.
“You think friends and family are just being polite but when strangers are saying ‘this is amazing, I can’t put it down’ - it’s different.”
The experience also brought back fond memories of her mum.
“She was the most generous, wonderful mother you could imagine,” she said.
“She always had a soft spot for what she called the world’s ‘ unfortunate’. It was just an amazing life. The book’s not just about dancing; it’s funny and poignant in places.”
Brains in your Feet is available for £9.99 and copies are for sale at LUVINIT gift shop on Bank Street, Rawtenstall. It can also be bought from the office at Haslingden Community Link.