Ivy Benson

Ivy Benson was an English musician and bandleader, who led an allfemale swing band. Benson and her band rose to fame in the 1940s, headlining variety theatres and topping the bill at the London Palladium, and became the BBCs resident house band.

Benson was born onNovember 1913 in Holbeck, Leeds, the daughter of Douglas Rolland Digger Benson and his wife Mary Jane Mead. Her father, a musician who played several instruments including trombone for the Leeds Symphony Orchestra, began teaching her the piano at the age of five. She played at working mens clubs from the age of eight, billed as Baby Benson, and performed on BBC Radios Childrens Hour aged nine.

Source: Wikipedia