Gertrude Mary Astbury

   Another name for Gertrude was Gertie Gitana.

  General Notes:

She was born Gertrude Mary Astbury in Shirley Street, Longport, Stoke-on-Trent.[1] Her father was a pottery works foreman and her mother Lavinia taught at St Peter's RC school in Cobridge. When she was three, the family moved to Frederic Street in nearby Hanley.[2]
Gitana is Spanish for (female) 'Gipsy' and she was a member of Tomlinson's 'Royal Gipsy Children' at the age of four. On account of her petite form and supposed Gipsy origins, she was sometimes billed as 'The Staffordshire Cinderella'.
She made her professional debut in 1896 at the age of eight on the stage of The Tivoli in Barrow-in-Furness. Two years later at the age of ten she had a significant billing at The Argyle in Birkenhead and her first London appearance was in 1900. At the age of 17, she topped the bill for the first time at The Ardwick Empire at Manchester and Gertie Gitana had arrived. In her prime she was reputed to have earned in excess of £100 per week and her name was always sufficient to ensure a full house.
She died of cancer in January 1957 and was buried in the churchyard at Wigston Magna with her husband.

  Noted events in her life were:

• Occupation: British music hall entertainer.