Priti Patel MP unveils the Blue Plaque commemorating the life of Joy Laurey.
Priti Patel MP unveils Blue Plaque to commemorate the life of Tiptree resident Joy Laurey
Tiptree’s local MP, Priti Patel has unveiled Tiptree’s first ever Blue Plaque in celebration of the life of renowned puppeteer and local resident Joy Laurey. Ms Laurey lived at Well Cottage, Maldon Road, Tiptree for 36 years, where the Plaque was unveiled in a special ceremony on Saturday (30th April 2022).
Joy Laurey was a pioneer in providing entertainment through puppetry. she started her professional career with ENSA, during the Second World War, working with her sister and mother. Their Laurey Company entertained the troops with puppet shows all over the country.
She went on to work in television creating characters such as Mr Turnip, a puppet based upon a vegetable. The one-off show commissioned by the BBC was so well received that it went on to run for more than six years. Mr Turnip became a celebrity in his own right and sold more merchandise than any other TV celebrity of the time.
In the late 1950s, Joy was contracted by Gerry Anderson for ‘The Adventures of Twizzle’ one of his earliest productions. At that time, Mr Anderson knew very little about puppets and it was left to Joy and the Laurey Company to get that side of his business up and running. Joy’s early work was the inspiration for Gerry Anderson’s later and much more well-known productions such as Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90. She died in 2014, aged 90.
Commenting after the ceremony, Priti paid tribute to Joy Laurey’s contribution to children’s entertainment: “I am very proud that Tiptree has its first Blue Plaque and even more so that it is for a woman who lived here for so long and had a such a major but often forgotten influence over children’s entertainment. Joy gave so much pleasure to so many children and it is fitting that her life should be commemorated here in Tiptree and on a day that would have been her 98th birthday.”
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