SIXTY-five years after the seed was planted, a former Fleet Street journalist who now calls Leamington home, has finally seen her book “The Bluebell Story” published.
Sylvia Disley, nee Cheeseman, is a former Olympic athlete and journalist. She competed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal in the sprint relay, and later worked for The Sunday Graphic, The Daily Express and The Star.
But it is not her own story she has to tell.
In 1960, she had the opportunity to interview Margaret ‘Miss Bluebell’ Kelly, the founder of the Bluebell Girls dance troupe and wrote a book about the colourful Irish woman.
But when it was finished, Margaret refused authorisation for it to be published and the book was shelved.
Now, at the grand of 95, Sylvia has finally seen the book make it to print.
The Bluebell Story: A Tale of Grit and Glamour, celebrates Margaret’s legacy and how she overcame adversity and left a lasting mark on the entertainment world, proving that with determination, anything is possible.
Sylvia said: “This is a story of light and dark, of doors opening and doors closing; how one Irish woman overcame physical, financial and social barriers to create something spectacular inspiring generations of women to come. Her troupes of world-famous Bluebell Girls are a legacy to her persistence, vision and leadership.”
She continued that she came to write this book after her sister Eleanor became head Bluebell Girl and told her about how remarkable Margaret was.
Sylvia explained: “I felt this was such a terrific story that it simply had to be told. It had all the elements of a great story – orphaned as a baby, Bluebell was a frail invalid living in poverty. Through sheer determination and the ambition of her adoptive mother, she learned not only to walk but to dance, a passion that took her all over Europe until a door opened to her that was to change the rest of her life and many others to follow – the opportunity to build her own dance troupe at the famous Folies Bergere in Paris.
“But this is more than just a rags-to-riches story. Hers is also a love story set amid war torn Paris. It tells of how she survived incarceration and saved her Romanian-Jewish husband from the Nazis and how she, in true showbiz fashion, kept the show on the road throughout world war two. It reminds us that, with dogged determination and a little bit of Irish luck, one can achieve anything.”
The Bluebell Story will be officially launched at Whittle’s restaurant at Audley Binswood retirement village in Leamington on Friday April 25
