Ann Moray (1909–1981) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

singer and novelist of Scots‐Irish background. She was known by the nickname Scottie during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when she sung for patients in battlefield hospitals. She developed an interest in the

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

of Ireland and Scotland. In 1965, she published a book on the topic of love stories in Celtic folklore. As a singer, she recorded

Gaelic music Gaelic music ( ga, Ceol Gaelach, gd, Ceòl Gàidhealach) is an umbrella term for any music written in the Gaelic languages of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. To differentiate between the two, the Irish language is typically just referred to as "Irish" ...

and music inspired by Gaelic

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

s. Her papers have been preserved by

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Early life

Moray was born to Herbert Moray Burgess and Gertrude Newton.''Federal District, Mexico, Civil Registration Marriages, 1861–1950'' According to a 1964 article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Moray was of Scots‐Irish background, but was raised in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. While biographical information is difficult to find, according to liner notes on her recording, "The Love Songs of Robert Burns" (Spoken Arts #754), she studied music in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

World War II activities

During

, she worked with the Chaplain Corps of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. She sung unaccompanied in battlefield hospitals, where the soldiers knew her as "Scottie". Maxine Andrews told a story about a soldier who was afraid he was near death, who asked Moray to sing "Abide With Me" at his funeral. Moray assured him that he was not going to die anytime soon, but promised to sing. That night the soldier did die, and "two days later, Ann Moray stood in the rain next to his freshly dug grave on the beachhead at Anzio and sang." Moray recounted when a field hospital physician had cautioned her against informing a soldier that he had been blinded. This soldier asked her to sing " Smilin' Through" from a 1941 motion picture. The song contains repeated references to "eyes of blue," and the soldier asked her if his eyes "are blue" or "were blue." Moray answered, "were".

Post-war period

After World War II, she continued to study music, and in 1952 gave her first recital at the Town Hall in New York City. She developed a serious interest in the

of her homeland, and at a town hall recital in 1954, devoted the second half of the program to songs and

s of Ireland and the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...

(Western Isles). Later in life Ann Moray turned to writing, and is the author of three published novels and a book of short stories. Moray's papers are in the Howard Gotleib Archival Research Center at

Marriage

In 1947, Moray married Juan Antonio López de Ceballos y Elizando, a Venezuelan diplomat, in Mexico.

Selected works

Periodicals

*"Christ Child's Lullaby"—story—''Mademoiselle'', December 1964, vol. 60, pp. 110–11 *"Celtic Heritage in Ireland"—''Horizon'', Spring 1965, vol. 7, pp. 32–39 *"Tom Tinker Ellis"—story—''Mademoiselle'', December 1967, vol. 66, pp. 100–01 *"Magic Mask"—story—''Redbook'', December 1971, vol. 138, pp. 71–73

Books

*''Rising of the Lark'', 1964. *''A Fair Stream of Silver: Love Tales from Celtic Lore Collected and Retold by Ann Moray''. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1965. *''Gervase''. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1970.''New York Times Book Review'', 25 October 1970, p. 58. *''Dawn Falcon: A Novel of Ancient Egypt''. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1974.

Recordings

*''Gaelic Songs and Legends.'' Spoken Arts #745 (phonorecord 33). *''The Love Songs of Robert Burns.'' Spoken Arts No. 754 (phonorecord 33).

References

External links

* Aileen Pippett
"Review of ''Captive in Wales; THE RISING OF THE LARK'' By Ann Moray"
''

'', 2 February 1964, Sunday Section: Book Review, pg. BR34. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moray, Ann 1909 births 1981 deaths 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century Welsh novelists 20th-century Welsh women writers 20th-century Welsh women singers Date of birth missing Date of death missing Welsh women novelists University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni British women in World War II British women short story writers Folklore writers Welsh folklorists Writers about Scotland Ulster Scots people Welsh people of Irish descent