✦   Victorian Music Hall   ✦   Women's Football   ✦   London 1879–1934   ✦

Lily Flexmore

Ellen Mary Ann Dunn · Acrobatic Contortionist · Dancer · Footballer

✦   Born: 25 February 1879, Peerless Street, Islington   ✦   Died: 19 January 1934, Highgate Hill   ✦

She was sixteen when she walked onto a football pitch before ten thousand spectators. She was forty-six when she last performed her signature dance on a London stage. For nearly thirty years, as Lily Flexmore, she bent the limits of the human body on stages from Johannesburg to New York — and was returned, in death, to the city that made her.

Discover Her Story
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✦   One Woman, Three Names   ✦

Who Was She?

Born Ellen, she became Lily on stage and Ruth on the football pitch

Born As

Ellen Mary Ann
Dunn

Her true name — born in Peerless Street, Islington, on 25 February 1879. Daughter of John Dunn, shoemaker, and Ellen Mary Dunnell. Second of eleven children. The name that appears on her baptism record, her marriage certificate, and her grave.

On Stage

Lily
Flexmore

The name under which she became famous. From 1895 onwards, Lily Flexmore was one of the most celebrated acrobatic contortionists and dancers on the Victorian and Edwardian music hall circuit — performing in London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg and beyond.

On the Football Pitch

Ruth
Coupland

The pseudonym under which she played in the inaugural match of the British Ladies Football Club in 1895. The identification of Ellen Dunn as Ruth Coupland is credited to football historian Stuart Gibbs, whose research has recovered the hidden stories of the BLFC's pioneering women.

✦   Footballer · Dancer · Contortionist · Comedienne   ✦

Ellen Mary Ann Dunn

Born in Peerless Street · She died in Islington · She lives in history

“I had thought for the longest time that I would never be able to bring this account of Ellen Dunn to a conclusion. Having had a single little breakthrough in October last, the brick wall finally began to crumble.”
Origins — A London Family

Ellen Mary Ann Dunn was born on Tuesday, 25 February 1879, at 56 Peerless Street, Islington, St. Luke's, London. The site is now occupied by Moorfields Eye Hospital. She was the second of eleven children born to John Dunn, a shoemaker, and his wife Ellen Mary Dunnell.

Her parents had married on 3rd June 1876, their address at the time being White Lion Yard, London — now known as Lancashire Court, just off Brook Street in Mayfair.

Baptism Record Ellen Mary Ann Dunn 1879

Baptism Record · Ellen Mary Anne Dunn · No. 315 · 56 Peerless Street, Islington · 23rd March 1879 · Parents: John & Ellen Dunn

Together John and Ellen Dunnell raised eleven children over twenty-three years, including John Joseph (1877–1946), Frederick (1881–1964), George William (1883–1943), Charles Joshua (1885–1957), Mary Ann Ada (1888–1953), Alice Maud (1891–1979), Ethel (1894–1987), Percy James (1896–1974), Albert H (1898–1964), and Henry Ambrose (1900–1995).

Childhood & Schooling

On 18th November 1884, five-year-old Ellen was enrolled at Hammond Square Primary School, Hoxton Street, London. By the time of the 1891 Census the family had moved to 108 Royston Street, Bethnal Green. It is very likely that Ellen was by this time attending a dance and gymnastics school. As well as dancing and gymnastics, she was also to become a professional contortionist of exceptional ability.

A Remarkable Life

From the Clerkenwell streets of her birth to the stages of three continents — the biography of Ellen Mary Ann Dunn is one of the most astonishing recovered from the Victorian music hall. She played football before thousands and performed contortion before emperors. She lost a child. She crossed oceans. She was admired by young women in Michigan who had never met her. She outlived her husband by only four months, and was buried beside him in Islington — the city that made her.

Ellen Mary Ann Dunn — footballer, dancer, contortionist, traveller, comedienne, and wife — lived a life of extraordinary breadth and courage. She was sixteen when she walked onto a football pitch before ten thousand people. She was forty-six when she last performed her signature dance on a London stage. She deserves to be remembered by name.

✦   British Ladies Football Club · 1895   ✦

Ruth Coupland

Playing for North London — 23 March 1895

The Inaugural Match

In 1895, at just sixteen years of age, Ellen Mary Ann Dunn took part in the inaugural football match of the British Ladies Football Club. Playing under the pseudonym Ruth Coupland, she took to the field at Crouch End Athletic Ground, North London, before a crowd of some ten thousand spectators.

Ellen's team, North London, won by seven goals to one. The choice of a pseudonym was not unusual amongst the players. To appear publicly on a football field was, for a young woman of the 1890s, an act of considerable social daring — though for Ellen, the anonymity was somewhat ironic, given that she was already building a public performing career under another assumed name entirely.

16

Her age at the match

~10,000

Spectators at Crouch End

7–1

North London's victory

The Pseudonym

The identification of Ellen Dunn as the player known as Ruth Coupland is credited to the meticulous research of football historian Stuart Gibbs, a leading authority on the pioneering women of the British Ladies Football Club and on the early history of women's football in Britain and Ireland.

✦   Stuart Gibbs — Research Credit

His work — encompassing the art exhibition Moving the Goalposts, published academic articles, and sustained original research into the players, pseudonyms, and lives of the BLFC ladies — has been foundational to the recovery of these hidden stories.

The British Ladies Football Club was founded by Nettie Honeyball in 1894. Its inaugural match, held on 23 March 1895 at Crouch End, is recognised as a pivotal moment in the history of women's football. The players used pseudonyms both to protect their private identities and — in some cases — because they already had public professional personas they wished to keep separate from their sporting activities.

Ellen Dunn as Ruth Coupland BLFC 1895

Ellen Mary Ann Dunn · Playing as Ruth Coupland · British Ladies Football Club · 1895

BLFC North London Team 1895

British Ladies Football Club · North London Team · 1895 · Colourised · Ellen's team won 7–1 against South London · Photo: Robert Barrass Studios, Newcastle

✦   Explore the Full BLFC Story

Ellen's full biography in the context of the British Ladies Football Club, including every player, every match, and the complete research record, is available on the companion site.

Birth of the Lionesses   →
✦   Nearly Thirty Years on Stage   ✦

Lily Flexmore

Acrobatic contortionist, dancer, singer, comedienne

Lily Flexmore The Back Bend

Lily Flexmore · The Back Bend · Colourised promotional photograph

Lily Flexmore by Gerlach

Lily Flexmore · by Gerlach

Lily Flexmore Reverse Handstand

Lily Flexmore · Reverse Handstand

Her Career

From 1895 onwards, Ellen — performing under the stage name Lily Flexmore — embarked on what would become a long, successful, and genuinely remarkable career in the Victorian and Edwardian music hall. She was a professional dancer, contortionist, singer and comedienne, celebrated in particular for her signature “Toe-In-Mouth” dance, which she was still performing at the age of forty-six in 1925.

At just eighteen years of age, Ellen travelled to South Africa to appear at the Empire Theatre, Johannesburg. She appeared all over the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1898 and 1925. In December 1907 she and her husband George travelled aboard the White Star Liner RMS Adriatic to New York, then on to Chicago for the Chicago Auditorium. Ellen subsequently toured the USA on the Orpheum Theatre Circuit — forty-five theatres across thirty-six American cities — and toured Canada to glowing reviews.

The Body's Limits

A Body Trained to the Limits of Human Possibility

What you see in her photographs is not a trick of the camera, nor a posture available to the merely flexible. It is the result of years — almost certainly a decade or more — of relentless daily training that would have begun in childhood, when the connective tissues of the spine, hips and shoulders are still sufficiently pliable to be shaped by disciplined, progressive work.

In her back-bend pose, every pound of her weight is borne by two points alone — her forehead and her heels. Yet her hands are turned gracefully upwards, her wrists barely grazing the stage, her fingers loose and open, as though she were simply resting. Those upturned palms are not an accident. They are a declaration: I am not holding myself up. I do not need to.

Ellen Dunn performed positions of this difficulty on stages from London to Johannesburg, from New York to Berlin, for nearly thirty years. She did not perform like this because it came easily. She performed like this because she had devoted her life to the work.

International Tours

In 1909 she appeared at the Marigny Theatre in Paris, then at the Apollo Theatre, Berlin. In November 1910 she performed at the Union Theatre in Strassburg, and in March 1912 in Beausoleil, France, on the Côte d'Azur, just above Monaco.

✦   A Tribute from Across the Atlantic   ·   Saugatuck, Michigan, 1908   ✦

In early 1908, the young women of Saugatuck, Michigan organised a Leap Year Ball. They sent anonymous invitations, each signing with the name of a famous actress or artiste — among them Ellen Terry, Anna Held, Maxine Elliott, and Lily Flexmore.

Ellen had been in the United States for barely a month. That the young women of Saugatuck placed her name in such company — alongside women whose fame spanned two continents — is among the most eloquent testimonies to the heights of renown she had achieved. Thousands of miles from home, in a small lakeside town in Michigan, the name Lily Flexmore was one that young men were expected to recognise and wish to dance with.

✦   Saugatuck, Allegan County, Michigan, USA   ·   28 February 1908

Lily Flexmore Portrait in Lace

Lily Flexmore · Portrait in Lace · Promotional Photograph

✦   January 1899 · Bethnal Green   ✦

George Ambrose White

The man behind the name Flexmore

The Marriage

Ellen Dunn married George Ambrose White, a professional comedian, in Bethnal Green in January 1899. George was born on 14th March 1877 at 23 Goswell Terrace, Clerkenwell, the son of Robert William White and Maria, formerly Ridley. He performed professionally as George Flexmore.

Civil Birth Record George Ambrose White 1877

Civil Birth Record · George Ambrose White · 14th March 1877

Baptism Record George Ambrose White 1877

Baptism Record · George Ambrose White · 6th May 1877

Civil Marriage Record Q1 1899 Bethnal Green

Civil Marriage Record · Q1 1899 · Bethnal Green

Civil Marriage Record Ellen Marian Dunn January 1899

Civil Marriage Record · Ellen Marian Dunn · January 1899

The Tragedy of Birmingham — July 1899

On 28th July 1899, while performing in Birmingham and staying at 24 Coleshill Street, Ellen gave birth to a premature baby girl. The infant survived for just one hour and did not receive a name. The birth certificate records the child simply as “Female Flexmore,” daughter of George Ambrose Flexmore, Comedian, and Lily Flexmore, formerly Dunn. This heartbreaking document is one of the most poignant records in Ellen's story.

Birth Certificate Female Flexmore 1899

Birth Certificate · Female Flexmore · 28th July 1899 · Birmingham · GRO

Death Certificate Female Flexmore 1899

Death Certificate · Female Flexmore · 28th July 1899 · Premature Birth · GRO

George Ambrose White Comedian

George Ambrose White · Comedian · known as George Flexmore

Ellen Mary Ann Dunn Colourised Portrait

Ellen Mary Ann Dunn · Colourised Portrait

The Death of George

George Ambrose White died very suddenly at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, on Tuesday, 26th September 1933, aged fifty-five. The cause of death was mesenteric thrombosis. A postmortem was carried out on the same day.

A procession of forty newspaper delivery vans followed the funeral cortege — a measure of the high esteem in which George was held at Associated Newspapers. He left his estate of £125 to Ellen.

📄 george_death_cert.jpg — Official Death Certificate · George Ambrose White · 26 September 1933 · St. Bartholomew's Hospital · GRO

Official Death Certificate · George Ambrose White · 26th September 1933 · St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London · GRO Certified Copy

✦   A Life in Full   ✦

Timeline

From Peerless Street to Islington Cemetery · 1879–1934

25 February 1879

Born in Peerless Street, Islington

Ellen Mary Ann Dunn is born at 56 Peerless Street, Islington, St. Luke's — now the site of Moorfields Eye Hospital. Second of eleven children of John Dunn, shoemaker, and Ellen Mary Dunnell. Baptised 23 March 1879.

18 November 1884

Enrolled at Hammond Square Primary School

Five-year-old Ellen is enrolled at Hammond Square Primary School, Hoxton Street, London. She is thought soon after to have begun training in dance and gymnastics.

23 March 1895

Plays for the British Ladies Football Club

Aged sixteen, playing as Ruth Coupland, Ellen takes to the field at Crouch End Athletic Ground before a crowd of approximately ten thousand spectators. North London wins 7–1 against South London.

c. 1895

Begins performing as Lily Flexmore

Ellen adopts the stage name Lily Flexmore and embarks on a professional career as a dancer, acrobatic contortionist, singer and comedienne that will span nearly three decades.

c. 1897–1898

Performs in Johannesburg

At just eighteen years of age, Ellen travels to South Africa to appear at the Empire Theatre, Johannesburg — the beginning of an international career.

January 1899

Marries George Ambrose White, Bethnal Green

Ellen marries George Ambrose White, a professional comedian who performs as George Flexmore, in Bethnal Green. They will tour together and perform as a professional partnership.

28 July 1899

The Birmingham Tragedy

While performing in Birmingham and staying at 24 Coleshill Street, Ellen gives birth to a premature baby girl. The infant — recorded as “Female Flexmore” — lives for only one hour.

December 1907

Sails to New York aboard RMS Adriatic

Ellen and George travel aboard the White Star Liner RMS Adriatic to New York, then on to Chicago for the Chicago Auditorium. Ellen subsequently tours the USA on the Orpheum Theatre Circuit — 45 theatres across 36 American cities.

28 February 1908

Honoured at the Saugatuck Leap Year Ball

The young women of Saugatuck, Michigan choose Lily Flexmore's name — alongside Ellen Terry and Anna Held — as one of the famous artistes behind which they sign their anonymous invitations. Ellen has been in the USA barely a month.

1909

Paris and Berlin

Ellen appears at the Marigny Theatre in Paris, then at the Apollo Theatre, Berlin. Her international touring continues to expand.

November 1910

Strassburg and the Côte d'Azur

Ellen performs at the Union Theatre in Strassburg. In March 1912, she appears in Beausoleil, France, on the Côte d'Azur, just above Monaco.

1925

Final Known Performance

Ellen is documented performing her signature “Toe-In-Mouth” dance at the age of forty-six — the last known performance of a career spanning some thirty years.

26 September 1933

Death of George Ambrose White

George dies suddenly at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, aged 55, of mesenteric thrombosis. A procession of forty newspaper delivery vans follows his funeral cortege. He leaves £125 to Ellen.

19 January 1934

Death of Ellen Mary Ann Dunn

Just four months after the death of her husband, Ellen dies at St. Mary's Hospital (now Whittington Hospital), 77a Highgate Hill, Islington, aged 54. Cause of death: pneumococcal meningitis and acute primary pneumonia. Arrangements are handled by her brother Frederick Dunn.

25 January 1934

Buried at Islington Cemetery, Finchley

Ellen is interred at Islington Cemetery, Finchley, in the same plot as her husband: L/3/14781/P. The gravestone reads “Re-United.”

19 January 2023

In Memoriam, The Stage

The Stage magazine publishes an In Memoriam tribute to Ellen Mary Ann Dunn, finally giving her the public recognition she had long deserved.

✦   Islington Cemetery, Finchley   ✦

At Rest

Buried together · Re-United · Plot L/3/14781/P

The Death of Ellen

Just four months after the death of her husband, Ellen herself passed away. She died on Friday, 19th January 1934, at St. Mary's Hospital (now Whittington Hospital), 77a Highgate Hill, Islington, aged fifty-four. The cause of death was pneumococcal meningitis and acute primary pneumonia.

Arrangements were handled by Ellen's brother Frederick Dunn, of 70 Cyprus Street, Bethnal Green. Ellen was interred on 25th January 1934 at Islington Cemetery, Finchley, in the same plot as her husband — L/3/14781/P.

Civil Death Record Ellen Mary Ann Dunn White 1934

Civil Death Register · Ellen M.A. White · January 1934 · Islington District

Official Death Certificate Ellen Mary Ann Dunn White 1934

Official Death Certificate · Ellen Mary Ann White · 19 January 1934 · GRO

Burial Register Islington Cemetery Ellen Mary Ann White 1934

Burial Register · Islington Cemetery, Finchley · No. 136205 · Ellen Mary Ann White · 77a Highgate Hill, Islington · Buried 25th January 1934 · Aged 54

The Stage — In Memoriam

In January of 2023, with the kind permission of Ms Karen Wall, I placed an In Memoriam tribute in The Stage magazine. I wanted it to coincide with the 90th anniversary of Ellen's passing. Ellen had featured many times in this magazine during her career.

In Memoriam Ellen Mary Ann Dunn The Stage January 2023

In Memoriam · Ellen Mary Ann Dunn · 25 February 1879 – 19 January 1934 · Published in The Stage magazine · 19 January 2023

Islington Cemetery, Finchley

George Ambrose White

14 March 1877   ·   26 September 1933

Ellen Mary Ann White

25 February 1879   ·   19 January 1934

Re-United

Plot L/3/14781/P

Grave of Ellen Mary Ann Dunn and George Ambrose White Islington Cemetery

George Ambrose White & Ellen Mary Ann · “Re-United” · Islington Cemetery, Finchley · Plot L/3/14781/P

Grave of Ellen and George with tributes January 2025

The grave of Ellen & George with portraits and tributes laid in their memory · January 2025

✦   Finding the Grave   ✦

Directions to the Graveside

Ellen and George are interred in Islington Cemetery, High Road, East Finchley, London N2 9AG — Plot L/3/14781/P, located on Central Road. The distance from the High Road main gate to the grave is approximately 800 metres, along good flat tarmac surfaces throughout. There is a water tap at the junction of Upper Road and Quadrant Road, close to the grave — so only empty containers need be carried for flowers. Most of the roadways are wide enough to drive on; beware of almost silent electric vehicles.

Islington and St Pancras Cemetery map showing best route to grave

Islington & St. Pancras Cemetery — Map showing the recommended route to Plot L/3/14781/P

✦   Step by Step   ✦

Step 1

Enter from the High Road Main Gate, which leads directly onto Viaduct Road. Follow Viaduct Road straight into the cemetery.

Viaduct Road leading into Islington Cemetery

Viaduct Road leading into the cemetery

Step 2

Veer left from Viaduct Road onto Circular Road.

Junction where Viaduct Road meets Circular Road

Veer left from Viaduct Road onto Circular Road

Step 3

Follow Circular Road as it approaches St. Pancras Cemetery Chapel.

Circular Road approaching St Pancras Cemetery Chapel

Circular Road approaching St. Pancras Cemetery Chapel

Step 4

Passing the Chapel, take Church Road North — not North Road. Church Road North leads to the Administration Offices and on to Upper Road.

Church Road North leaving the Chapel

Church Road North leaving the Chapel — not North Road

Step 5

Church Road North ends at the Administration Offices, where Upper Road begins. Continue straight ahead.

Administration Offices where Upper Road begins

Church Road North ends at the Admin Offices — Upper Road begins here

Step 6

Continue along Upper Road, bypassing Mausoleum Road.

Upper Road bypassing Mausoleum Road

Continue along Upper Road, bypassing Mausoleum Road

Step 7

Follow Upper Road as it approaches Quadrant Road on the left. Almost there.

Upper Road approaching Quadrant Road

Upper Road approaching Quadrant Road on the left

Step 8

Turn left onto Quadrant Road. Note the water tap close to the signpost on the corner — useful for filling containers for flowers.

Quadrant Road with water tap near signpost

Quadrant Road begins — water supply close to signpost

Step 9

Turn left onto Central Road. The grave is on the right-hand side, approximately 10 metres along, set back from the path by about 5–6 metres.

Turn left onto Central Road

Turn left onto Central Road — the grave is 10 metres along on the right

✦   You have arrived   ✦

The grave of Ellen Mary Ann Dunn and George Ambrose White

Ellen & George — Re-United and Resting in Paradise.

✦   The Stage Magazine · January 2023   ✦

In Memoriam

Remembering Ellen Mary Ann Dunn · 90 years on

In January of 2023, with the kind permission of Ms Karen Wall, I placed an In Memoriam tribute in The Stage magazine. I wanted it to coincide with the 90th anniversary of Ellen's passing. Ellen had featured many times in this magazine during her career.

✦   Ellen Mary Ann Dunn

25 February 1879 – 19 January 1934

Peerless Street, Islington  ·  Highgate Hill, Islington

Footballer · Dancer · Acrobatic Contortionist · Comedienne
Known on stage as Lily Flexmore
Beloved wife of George Ambrose White

The Stage was the leading weekly newspaper of the British entertainment industry, founded in 1880 — just one year after Ellen's birth. That she featured in its pages many times during her long career is a testament to the prominence she achieved on the Victorian and Edwardian music hall circuit.

In Memoriam Ellen Mary Ann Dunn The Stage January 2023

In Memoriam · Ellen Mary Ann Dunn · Published in The Stage magazine · 19 January 2023 · 90th anniversary of her passing

✦   Primary Sources & Records   ✦

Documents

The paper trail of a remarkable life

📄 PDF

22 Pages

✦   Featured Document   ✦

The Life Story of Ellen Mary Ann Dunn

Ancestry.co.uk  ·  Complete Genealogical Record  ·  2026

The complete Ancestry life story document for Ellen Mary Ann Dunn — tracing her life from birth in Islington in 1879 through to her death in 1934. This remarkable 22-page document brings together certified copies of original records: birth and baptism, residence, marriage, the tragedy of Baby Girl Flexmore, census returns of 1901, 1911 and 1921, the deaths of Ellen and George, burial register, probate, and the rediscovery of the grave in 2023. Each entry is accompanied by scanned images of the original documents.

▶ Open Full Document

✦   Individual Records   ✦

Births

GRO Birth Certificate · 1879

Birth Certificate — Ellen Mary Ann Dunn

25 February 1879 · 56 Peerless Street, Islington · Father: John Dunn, Whip Maker · Mother: Ellen, formerly Dunnell · GRO certified copy · Application No. 13847112-1

View document →

Civil Birth Record · 1877

Birth Record — George Ambrose White

14 March 1877 · 23 Goswell Terrace, Clerkenwell · Father: Robert William White · Mother: Maria, formerly Ridley · Civil register entry

View document →

GRO Birth Certificate · 1899

Birth Certificate — Baby Girl Flexmore

28 July 1899 · 24 Coleshill Street, Birmingham · Father: George Ambrose Flexmore, Comedian · Mother: Lily Flexmore, formerly Dunn · Premature birth · GRO certified copy · Application No. 14291181-1

View document →

Civil Birth Index · 1899

Civil Birth Index — Baby Girl Flexmore

Q3 1899 · Birmingham, Warwickshire · Last name: Flexmore · Mother's maiden name: Dunn · England & Wales Births 1837–2006 · Volume 6D, Page 60

View document →
Marriages

Civil Marriage Index · 1899 · George's Entry

Marriage Index — George White & Ellen Marian Dunn

Q1 1899 · Bethnal Green, London · England & Wales Marriages 1837–2005 · Volume 1C, Page 292 · George White married Ellen Marian Dunn

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Civil Marriage Index · 1899 · Ellen's Entry

Marriage Index — Ellen Marian Dunn & George White

Q1 1899 · Bethnal Green, London · England & Wales Marriages 1837–2005 · Volume 1C, Page 292 · Ellen Marian Dunn married George White

View document →
Deaths

GRO Death Certificate · 1899

Death Certificate — Baby Girl Flexmore

28 July 1899 · 24 Coleshill Street, Birmingham · Cause: premature birth · Lived one hour · Father in attendance · GRO certified copy · Application No. 14409877-1

View document →

Civil Death Index · 1899

Civil Death Index — Baby Girl Flexmore

Q3 1899 · Birmingham, Warwickshire · Last name: Flexmore · Age: 0 · England & Wales Deaths 1837–2007 · Volume 6D, Page 41

View document →

GRO Death Certificate · 1933

Death Certificate — George Ambrose White

26 September 1933 · St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London City · Cause: mesenteric thrombosis · Aged 55 · Informant: Ellen White, widow · GRO certified copy · Application No. 14437479-1

View document →

Civil Death Record · 1933

Civil Death Register — George Ambrose White

26 September 1933 · St. Bartholomew's Hospital · 28 Colebrooke Row, Islington · Newspaper Inspector · Civil register entry

View document →

GRO Death Certificate · 1934

Death Certificate — Ellen Mary Ann Dunn White

19 January 1934 · 77a Highgate Hill, Islington · Cause: pneumococcal meningitis & acute primary pneumonia · Aged 54 · Informant: F. Dunn, brother · GRO certified copy · Application No. 14415487-1

View document →

Civil Death Record · 1934

Civil Death Register — Ellen Mary Ann Dunn White

19 January 1934 · 77a Highgate Hill, Islington · Widow of George Ambrose White · 28 Colebrooke Row, Islington · Civil register entry

View document →
Probate

Probate · 1933

Probate — George Ambrose White

22 November 1933 · London · Administration granted to Ellen Mary Ann White, widow · Effects: £125

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Probate Notice · 1934

Probate Notice — Ellen Mary Ann White

12 June 1934 · London · Of 28 Colebrooke Row, Islington · Probate granted to Joseph Thomas Clark, shop assistant · Effects: £236 14s. 11d.

View document →

Probate Transcript · 1934

Probate Transcript — Ellen Mary Ann White

19 January 1934 · England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1858–2019 · Probate date: 12 June 1934 · Probate registry: London · Linked person: Joseph Thomas Clark

View document →
Burial & Interment

Interment Record · 1933–1934

Interment Details — George & Ellen White

Islington Cemetery · Grave reference: L/3/14781/P · George Ambrose White, interred 2 October 1933 · Ellen Mary Ann White, interred 25 January 1934 · London Borough of Islington

View document →

Cemetery Map

Plot Location — Islington & St. Pancras Cemetery

Islington & St. Pancras Cemetery · East Finchley, London · Showing the location of Plot L/3/14781/P · Circular Road section

View document →
Electoral Registers

Electoral Register · 1918

Electoral Register — George Ambrose White

1918 · 28 Colebrooke Row, Islington · South Division, Polling District H · St. Peter Ward · Entry No. 3777

View document →

Electoral Register · 1919

Electoral Register — George Ambrose White

1919 · 28 Colebrooke Row, Islington · Colebrooke Row (N.1) · Entry No. 4300

View document →

Electoral Register · 1931

Electoral Register — Ellen & George White

1931 · 28 Colebrooke Row, Islington · South Division, Polling District H · Ellen Marian White (No. 1786) · George Ambrose White (No. 1787)

View document →
Other Records

Family Tree · Ancestry.co.uk

Ellen Mary Ann Dunn — Full Family Tree

The complete Ancestry.co.uk family tree for Ellen Mary Ann Dunn · Grandparents, parents, all ten siblings, husband George Ambrose White, and Baby Girl Flexmore (1899–1899) · Opens on Ancestry.co.uk

View on Ancestry →

In Memoriam · 2023

The Stage Magazine — In Memoriam

Published 19 January 2023 · Marking the 89th anniversary of Ellen's passing · Placed with the kind permission of Ms Karen Wall

View document →
✦   Research Methods   ✦

Sources & Bibliography

Records consulted & works referenced in this research

✦   Research Acknowledgements

The identification of Ellen Mary Ann Dunn as the player known as Ruth Coupland is credited to the meticulous research of football historian Stuart Gibbs. Stuart is a leading authority on the pioneering women of the British Ladies Football Club and on the early history of women's football in Britain and Ireland. His work — which encompasses the art exhibition Moving the Goalposts, published academic articles, and sustained original research into the players, pseudonyms, and lives of the BLFC ladies — has been foundational to the recovery of these hidden stories. This website is deeply indebted to his scholarship.

✦   Genealogical Databases

✦   Newspaper Archives

✦   Published Works

  • A History of Women's Football — Jean Williams
  • Unsuitable for Females — Carrie Dunn
  • When Women's Football Came to the Island — Stuart Gibbs
  • Playing Pasts — Stuart Gibbs
  • The Captain and the Contortionist — Stuart Gibbs
  • Following the History of Women's Football in Glasgow — Stuart Gibbs
  • The British Ladies' Football Club — Patrick Brennan (donmouth.co.uk)

✦   Companion Research

  • Birth of the Lionesses The Original Lady Footballers of 1895 — the companion research site that contains the full biography of Ellen Dunn alongside the stories of all the British Ladies Football Club players.