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The scene of the accident with the truck far right
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Tributes to a former showgirl run over in tragic accident
Former actress and opera singer, 88, was killed at crossing by 25-ton lorry
TRIBUTES have been paid to a retired opera singer and actress from Dartmouth Park who died on Tuesday after being run over by a lorry.
In her heyday, Sheila Whittingham performed at the Palladium and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
It is believed the 88-year-old was killed after dashing in front of the lorry with her Zimmer frame at a pedestrian crossing in Junction Road, Archway.
She was dragged under the tipper truck’s wheels as it moved forward just after midday.
Eyewitness Patrick Walsh, 56, said: “Sheila made a burst to try and get to the other side and the thing just went over her. Neither her nor the driver stood a chance.”
A large crowd formed around Mrs Whittingham, including an off-duty doctor, who tried desperately to revive her.
The helicopter air ambulance landed on the football pitch of nearby Acland Burghly school, joined by fire crews from Kentish Town and Euston.
The 25-tonne lorry was transporting spoil between building sites.
She was taken to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead suffering from severe abdominal and leg injuries and died at 1.37pm.
Police from Euston Traffic Garage are treating the incident as a fatal accident and the truck driver has not been arrested.
Mrs Whittingham was born in Scotland and discovered her aptitude for opera singing when she was treated for asthma as a child.
During the war, singing had to take a back seat as a young Sheila worked in London, first as a nurse and then an RAF radar operator.
She was a multi-talented variety performer who could sing, dance and even ice skate, often performing under her maiden name of Teasdale with husband Derrick Whittingham.
The couple were considered on the same level as singing stars Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth.
In the late 1950s she and her husband gave up showbusiness to become hoteliers, running a number of hotels including the Grosvenor in Shaftsbury Avenue.
They divorced and Mrs Whittingham continued in hospitality, working in the Channel Islands and also as a catering manager for the YWCA, finally giving up work at 80.
Beryl Keeley, her friend of almost 50 years, said: “Sheila was a fantastic, flamboyant, extrovert and highly-talented woman. She was an extremely accomplished singer. When they owned a hotel close to Shepperton studios, they knew all the stars – anybody who is anybody, including Elizabeth Taylor and Dick Emery.”
Mrs Whittingham lived for 22 years in sheltered housing at Mary Webster House in Dartmouth Park Hill, which is run by the St Pancras and Humanist Housing Association, and had no children. Margaret Kelly, warden of the home, said: “On behalf of all the residents at Mary Webster House, it was a pleasure to have known Sheila. She was a wonderful character and great friend who will be sadly missed by one and all.”
Friends at the Boston Arms, Mrs Whittingham’s local pub, paid tribute to a “lovely and glamorous” woman who brought a touch of showbiz pizzazz to the pub.
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