The Mystery of Phoebe Hodgson. 1 May 1937
Southern News, Brighton
1 May 1937
The Mystery of Phoebe Hodgson
Today’s blog post contains a conundrum.
Who was Miss Phoebe Hodgson and why did Irene Mawer have a news clipping about her?
The attached photo shows the news clipping, and the photo of Miss Hodgson, with the explanation that she was a well-known musical-comedy star, married to the equally famous actor Ewart Scott.
Google shows that there was a Phoebe Hodgson, 1885-1972, who was an acress. However, I can’t work out a link to Irene Mawer. It is unlikely that Phoebe would have trained at the Ginner-Mawer School, given that she was eight years older than Irene Mawer (though this age difference does not, of course, actually preclude Phoebe having been a student, but I feel it is unlikely). It could be, however, that Phoebe trained in mime and qualified through the Institute of Mime. I have absolutley no evidence for this – I am simply grasping at straws as to why she appears in Miss Mawer’s book of Institute of Mime newspaper cuttings.
In addition, what on earth is the significance of the news cutting which has been placed next to the one about Phoebe? There seems to be a section missing. It just makes no sense at all – except that the surname Hodgson occurs in the final clipping. So perhaps there is a clue there, after all…
I have checked the pages following and preceding these entries, without learning the secret.
Please have a look at the photo and tell me if you can work out the reason, as I am at a total loss. Many thanks.
