Josephine Griffin (13 December 1928 – 15 September 2005) was a well-known English film actress who appeared in a string of British films in the 1950s, such as ''

The Purple Plain ''The Purple Plain'' is a 1954 British war film directed by Robert Parrish, with Gregory Peck playing a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot serving in the Royal Air Force in the Burma campaign in the closing months of the Second World War, who is b ...

'' (1954), ''

The Man Who Never Was ''The Man Who Never Was'' is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is based ...

'' (1956) and '' The Spanish Gardener'' (1956). After retiring from acting, under her married name Josephine Filmer-Sankey, she wrote about the Bayeux Tapestry and edited the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

of Sir

John Mandeville Sir John Mandeville is the supposed author of ''The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'', a travel memoir which first circulated between 1357 and 1371. The earliest-surviving text is in French. By aid of translations into many other languages, the ...

Biography

Josephine Griffin was born in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 13 December 1928, the only daughter of Ronald Griffin (son of Sir

Lepel Griffin Sir Lepel Henry Griffin, (20 July 1838 – 9 March 1908) was a British administrator and diplomat during the British Raj period in India. He was also a writer. Early life Lepel Henry Griffin was born in Watford, England on 20 July 1838. ...

, a British colonial administrator in India).Peerage News
/ref> In 1951–52 she acted in

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

's play ''The Moment of Truth'' at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in London, with

Eric Portman Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in several films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s. Early life Born in Halifax, ...

and

Cyril Luckham Cyril Alexander Garland Luckham (25 July 1907 – 8 February 1989) was an English film, television and theatre actor. He was the husband of stage and screen actress Violet Lamb. Career The son of a paymaster captain in the Royal Navy, Cyril Lu ...

also in the cast. She then appeared in a number of films in the 1950s. These included: '' The House of the Arrow'' (1953), ''

The Weak and the Wicked ''The Weak and the Wicked'' (called ''Young and Willing'' in the United States) is a 1954 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson based on the autobiographical novel '' Who Lie in Gaol'' by his wife, Joan Henry, starring Glynis Johns and ...

'' (1954), ''

'' (1954, as

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

's wife), ''

The Crowded Day ''The Crowded Day'' is a 1954 British comedy drama film directed by John Guillermin and starring John Gregson, Joan Rice, Cyril Raymond and Josephine Griffin. The film follows a group of shopgirls working in Bunting and Hobbs, a London depar ...

'' (1954), an episode of the television series ''

Fabian of the Yard ''Fabian of the Yard'' is a British police procedural television series based on the real-life memoirs of Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, made by the BBC and broadcast between November 1954 and February 1956. It is considered the earliest ...

'' (1955), ''

Room in the House ''Room in the House'' is a 1955 comedy-drama film directed by Maurice Elvey. The film's screenplay, by Alfred Shaughnessy, is based on Eynon Evans Evan Eynon Evans (18 May 1904 – 1989) billed as Eynon Evans and also known as E. Eynon R ...

'' (1955), ''

The Extra Day ''The Extra Day'' is a 1956 British comedy-drama film directed by William Fairchild and starring Richard Basehart, Simone Simon and George Baker. Plot After the final scene of a film is lost by the driver taking it to the printing lab, the ca ...

'' (1956) and '' On Such a Night'' (short; 1956). She had perhaps her best roles in two other 1956 films; as Pam in ''

'', and as Carol Burton in '' The Spanish Gardener''. She married in London on 11 October 1956. She made one more film, ''

Portrait of Alison ''Portrait of Alison'' is a 1956 British atmospheric crime film directed by Guy Green. It was based on a BBC television series '' Portrait of Alison'' which aired the same year. In the United States the film was released as ''Postmark for Dang ...

'' (1958; released in the USA as ''Postmark for Danger''), then retired from the screen.

Husband's family

Her husband Patrick Hugh Filmer-Sankey was a film producer. He was the grandson of

Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, (familiarly " Bendor"; 19 March 1879 – 19 July 1953) was a British landowner and one of the wealthiest men in the world. He was the son of Victor Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor, son of the ...

, and Constance Cornwallis-West (

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's step-aunt by marriage). Josephine Griffin's other connection to Winston Churchill was that he was an unseen character in ''The Man Who Never Was''; his voice was supplied by

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

Literary career

Under her married name Josephine Filmer-Sankey, she co-wrote ''The Bayeux Tapestry: The Story of the Norman Conquest, 1066'', with

Norman Denny Norman George Denny (1901–1982), also known under the pseudonyms Norman Dale and Bruce Norman, was an English writer and translator. He was born in Kent, later living for two years in Mexico City where his father was a mining engineer, before ...

(published 1966). With Denny, she also edited a new version of ''

The Travels of Sir John Mandeville Sir John Mandeville is the supposed author of ''The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'', a travel memoir which first circulated between 1357 and 1371. The earliest-surviving text is in French. By aid of translations into many other languages, the ...

'' (1973). She died in London on 15 September 2005, aged 76, survived by her son William and two grandchildren, Frances and Benedict. Her name has been attached to a pearl bracelet sold commercially.Pearl Magpie
/ref>

Filmography

References

External links

*
Josephine Griffin Movies
at Blockbuster {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Josephine 1928 births 2005 deaths English film actresses English art historians Women art historians English book editors Actresses from London Writers from London British women historians