A FORMER Bridport businesswoman Joan Davies has died at the age of 97.

She will be best remembered for her two decades as proprietor of Carolyn Curzons ladies fashion business in South Street.

Mrs Davies was born in Eastbourne on in January 1918. At the age of four she moved with her parents to the Royal Hospital Chelsea where her father was a Captain of Invalids.

Had she grown up in a different era she confessed she would have liked to gone to university and become a doctor. Always a person to join organisations she was a Queens Guide and met the Queen as standard bearer in 1935 at Westminster Abbey.

She met her husband Jack when he was a staff officer at the nearby Duke of York’s Regimental Headquarters and married him at 10.30am on Sunday 3 September 1939 as probably the last peacetime bride before the Second World War.

While away accompanying her mother to her father’s funeral in January1945 their married quarter in Chelsea was destroyed by a German V2 rocket and five people lost their lives.

Joan moved to Bridport with Jack in 1939 when he took up a new posting with the army.

In 1942 she gave birth to her first son Roger. She recalled hearing the church bells ring out for the first time since the outbreak of war three years earlier and supposed they were in celebration of the birth of her son.

Joan enjoyed being the wife of a military officer and the variety of postings that came with that life. Her favourite posting was to Singapore where her second son Bill was born in 1949.

She was very proud of her two sons who both went on to become navigator officers in the RAF and she was honoured to wear her own bejewelled Nav brevet.

A member of the WVS during the war and latterly involved with Dr Barnardos, the WI, Oxfam and The National Trust she was always busy helping others. She was a keen church goer and was a member of the St Mary’s congregation.

She had strong principles and was not afraid to confront those she considered violating her rights. This included a 200-strong gang of Hells Angels who took over Bridport for the afternoon and were roaring up and down the streets on their motor bikes. It was Joan who was first to step out onto the zebra crossing in front of the leaders bike to insist that she and her fellow elders had right of way.

At the age of 50 she took over a high class dress shop business, learnt to drive, learnt to play golf and bought a sea-going fishing boat much to the amazement of the local fishermen. At this time she continued to swimming the sea until her 60s.

At the same time she was helping Jack run his ice cream and boat hire businesses at West Bay.

Joan loved water and boats and even on her 80th birthday she went for a row on a Dutch Canal with her grandchildren.

Joan kept in touch with Harbour House after she retired and waited for the best penthouse with the sea view to become available before she moved in at the age of 75.

Even after retirement she became shop leader and manager for the local branch of Oxfam. Relying on her natural business ability and proven retail experience she received a much deserved award from Oxfam for her work.