Minnie Malinda "Nan" Braunton (4 April 1895 – 27 March 1978) was a British actress who had a prolific stage career during the 1930s and 1940s but who is best remembered for playing Cissy Godfrey in the BBC comedy ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

''. Braunton was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

in 1895, the daughter of Sarah and James Braunton, a carriage builder. In her youth she was the

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

and

Roger Livesey Roger Livesey (25 June 1906 – 4 February 1976) was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell and Pressburger, Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'', '' ...

who called her 'Nan' and who as adults persuaded her to try acting.

Stage work

By 1922 she was playing Lady Lerode in the stage play ''John Glayde's Honour'' at the Grand Theatre in Derby, and also appeared in ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...

'' at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln (1926). Cast of ''Dracula''
- ''

Lincolnshire Echo The ''Lincolnshire Echo'' is a weekly British regional newspaper for Lincolnshire, whose first edition was on Tuesday 31 January 1893, and is published every Thursday. It is owned by Reach PLC and it is distributed throughout the county. The ...

'' 13 November 1926 In 1929 she toured the United States in a theatrical company as an actress. She was Mrs Smith in ''Suspect'', played the 101-year-old Adelaide Whiteoak in ''Whiteoaks'' at the

Theatre Royal, Nottingham The Theatre Royal in Nottingham, England, is a theatre venue in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council as part of a complex that also includes the city's Royal Concert Hall. The Theatre Royal attracts major ...

(1939), appeared in '' No Orchids for Miss Blandish'' (1943), firstly in the West End and then on tour, played Jessica in

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

and

Roland Pertwee Roland Pertwee (15 May 1885 – 26 April 1963) was an English playwright, film and television screenwriter, director and actor. He was the father of ''Doctor Who'' actor Jon Pertwee and playwright and screenwriter Michael Pertwee. He was al ...

's ''The Paragon'' at the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre on Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. Since 1989 the theatre has hosted the long running play ''The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by author, playw ...

(1948) and appeared in ''The Boy David'' with the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

(1953).

Film and television

Braunton made her film début in 1953 in '' Will Any Gentleman...?''. She also appeared as Miss Jones in the film ''

It's a Great Day ''It's a Great Day'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by John Warrington. A spin-off of the popular soap ''The Grove Family'', the film stars Ruth Dunning as Gladys Grove, Edward Evans as Bob Grove, and Sid James as Harry Mason. Nancy ...

'' (1955),Braunton
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

which was a spin-off from the early television

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

The Grove Family ''The Grove Family'' was a British television series soap opera, generally regarded as the first of its kind broadcast in the UK, made and broadcast by the BBC Television Service from 1954 to 1957. The series concerned the life of the family of ...

'' (1955–57) and in which she played the same role. Her other television appearances included Miss Dobson in ''

Quatermass and the Pit ''Quatermass and the Pit'' is a British television science-fiction serial transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's ''Quatermass'' serials, although the chief character, Prof ...

'' (1958), Fräulein Rottenmeier in ''

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Use ...

'' (1959), in the 'Figure of Fun' episode of the BBC's ''

Sunday Night Theatre ''Sunday Night Theatre'' was a long-running series of televised live television plays screened by BBC Television from early 1950 until 1959. The productions for the first five years or so of the run were re-staged live the following Thursday, pa ...

'' (1959), Second Lady in '' Hotel Imperial'' (1960), Miss Sedgebeer in ''Yorky'' (1960), Miss Osborne in ''Harpers West One'' (1962), Mrs. Mortimer in ''

Emergency – Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like ''The Grove Family'', a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, ''Emergency Ward 10'' is considered to be one of British television's ...

'' (1962), Second Matron in ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canad ...

'' (1963), Mrs. Prebble in ''The Wednesday Thriller'' (1965), Bridge player in ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction ...

'' (1968), Mrs. Parteridge and Florence Gill in ''Detective'' (1964 and 1968), Mrs. Love Sr. in ''

Comedy Playhouse ''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...

'' (1969), Miss Blake in ''

Strange Report ''Strange Report'' is a British television crime drama series starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969 on ITV In the United States, NBC broadcast ''Strange Report'' between 8 Ja ...

'' (1969), Cissy Godfrey in ''

'' (1969-1971), various roles in '' Dixon of Dock Green'' (1955–69), and Old Lady in ''

Six Dates with Barker ''Six Dates with Barker'' is a series of six one-off, half-hour situation comedies showcasing the talents of Ronnie Barker. All were broadcast by London Weekend Television early in 1971. Writers on the series included John Cleese and Spike ...

'' (1971). She married Robert Bevens in 1947 in London.England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 for Minnie Braunton
- Ancestry.com Nan Braunton died in 1978 in Denville Hall, the retirement home for actors in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

References

External links

Braunton on aveleyman.comBraunton
on the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Braunton, Nan 1895 births 1978 deaths Welsh film actresses Welsh television actresses Welsh stage actresses 20th-century Welsh actresses Actresses from Cardiff Nannies Welsh domestic workers