Evette Huntley Branson (née Flindt; 12 July 1924 – 8 January 2021)[4] was a British philanthropist, child welfare advocate, and the mother of Richard Branson.[5]
Eve Branson | |
|---|---|
 Branson in 2013 | |
| Born | Evette Huntley Flindt[1] 12 July 1924[2][3] Edmonton, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 8 January 2021 (aged 96) United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Founder and director of the Eve Branson Foundation Philanthropist Child welfare advocate |
| Board member of | International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children |
| Spouse |
Ted Branson
(m. 1949; died 2011) |
| Children | 3, including Richard and Vanessa |
| Website | evebransonfoundation |
Life and career edit
Branson was born in Edmonton, Middlesex (now London Borough of Enfield, Greater London), England, the daughter of Dorothy Constance (née Jenkins) (19 June 1898 - August 1997) and Major Rupert Ernest Huntley Flindt (born 11 St Faith's-road, West Norwood, 28 December 1890 - 19 October 1966).[1][6] As a young adult, she served in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRENS) during World War II. After the war ended, she toured West Germany as a ballet dancer with Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA).[7][8] She later became an airline hostess for British South American Airways. After marrying, Branson ran a real estate property business and was a military police officer and probation officer. She also wrote novels and children's books.[5]
In 2013 Branson published her autobiography, Mum's the Word: The High-Flying Adventures of Eve Branson.[9]
Branson established the Eve Branson Foundation and served as its director.[5]
Branson was a member of the board of directors of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children ("ICMEC"), the goal of which is to help find missing children, and to stop the exploitation of children.[10][11] She was a founding member of ICMEC's board of directors in 1999, seeking to generate awareness of the centre's work, and her son Richard was ICMEC's founding sponsor.[11][12]
Personal life and death edit
She married, in Frimley, Surrey, on 15 October 1949, Edward James "Ted" Branson, born on 10 March 1918, a former Cavalryman, son of Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson and wife Mona Joyce Bailey.[13] He died on 19 March 2011 in his sleep at the age of 93.[8]
In 2011, Branson escaped a fire at her son's Caribbean home on Necker Island.[14]
Branson died from COVID-19 complications on 8 January 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom at the age of 96.[15][16] A celebration of her life was posted online by her son Richard.[17] He revealed that he owed his career to his mother, explaining that she had found a necklace in the 1960s and after the police let her keep the jewellery, because nobody had claimed it, she sold it and gave him the funds. "Without that £100, I could never have started Virgin," he said.[18]
Legacy edit
The VMS Eve the carrier mothership for Virgin Galactic and launch platform for SpaceShipTwo-based Virgin SpaceShips (Tail number: N348MS[19]) was named in her honour by Virgin Galactic and her son Sir Richard Branson.[20]
A new Airbus A350-1000, G-VEVE - Fearless Lady has been named in her honour and was delivered to Virgin Atlantic in December 2021 as the first aircraft optimised for the airline's leisure routes. [citation needed]
References edit
- ^ a b Finding Your Roots, 2 February 2016, PBS
- ^ "Richard Branson's blog". Virgin.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Mum's the Word: The High-Flying Adventures of Eve Branson, 2013, p. 4
- ^ "Eve Branson obituary". The Times. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.(subscription required)
- ^ a b c "Eve's Story". The Eve Branson Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ^ Mum's the Word: The High-Flying Adventures of Eve Branson, 2013, p. 3
- ^ McKeever, Vicky (11 January 2021). "Richard Branson reveals his mom — who helped him start Virgin — has died from Covid". CNBC. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Eve Branson talks to Saga Magazine". Saga Magazine. 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 17 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ^ Branson, Eve (16 January 2013). Mum's the Word: The High-Flying Adventures of Eve Branson. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781477245835 – via Google Books.
- ^ "ICMEC Board Members" Archived 3 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. icmec.org.
- ^ a b Eve Branson (2013) Mum's the Word, p. 207.
- ^ "International Children's Organization Expands Global Reach With Four New Board Members" Archived 29 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. icmec.org.
- ^ "Ancestry of Sir Richard Branson". www.wargs.com.
- ^ Day, Elizabeth (20 July 2014). "Eve Branson: 'I was not saved by Kate Winslet!'". The Guardian.
- ^ Rocks, Chelsea. "Eve Branson: who was Richard Branson's mum who has died of Covid - and the Virgin founder's tribute to her". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Richard Branson's mother dies of Covid-19". CNN Business. 11 January 2021.
- ^ "Celebrating my mum, Eve Branson | Virgin". Virgin News. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Richard Branson Reveals His Mom — Who Helped Him Start Virgin — Has Died From Covid". NBC. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "FAA N Number Registration for "Eve"". Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
- ^ Gorman, Steve (12 July 2021). "Billionaire Branson soars to space aboard Virgin Galactic flight". Reuters.
External links edit
- The Eve Branson Foundation
- Eve Branson obituary at The Times (subscription required)