Rebecca Marjorie Proops OBE (formerly Rayle, née Israel; 10 August 1911 – 10 November 1996) was a journalist and

agony aunt An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. The responses are wr ...

in the United Kingdom, writing the column ''Dear Marje'' for the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' newspaper. Proops was born in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, as the elder daughter of Alfred (a publican) and Martha Israel (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Rayle). Alfred Israel later had the family name changed to Rayle. The family moved to

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 ...

and Proops was educated at

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...

County Grammar School. She excelled at English and art, and had a fine

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

voice. Her teachers, nevertheless, advised her against

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

. Instead, she took a drawing course that enabled her to get a job in a studio near Smithfield. In 1935, she married Sidney Joseph Proops, with whom she had a son, Robert. In 1939, Proops became a journalist. Her first job was as fashion correspondent for the ''Daily Mirror''. Following the death of the problem page editor, Proops was given the job of reading and answering her correspondence, and soon became the agony aunt herself, a post she held until her own death. As well as being an adviser, she used her column to campaign for numerous causes. One that she advocated for was the establishment of special "suites" for the treatment and interviewing of rape victims, to minimize the stigma of reporting such crimes. Her radio appearances included a guest spot on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

comedy programme '' Just a Minute''. Her book ''Pride, Prejudice and Proops (Time Remembered)'' was published in 1975, followed by ''Dear Marje'' a year later. In 1971

Gilbert O'Sullivan Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hits including "Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair", and " Get Down". O'Sullivan's s ...

mentioned her in his second single ''Underneath The Blanket Go''. She was appointed OBE in 1969, awarded Woman of the Year in 1984, had a waxwork in

Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...

in 1977 and in 1971 appeared on '' This is Your Life''. In 2008 it was reported that a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

biopic drama about her life was in production. Proops died on 10 November 1996, aged 85. She is buried at

Golders Green Jewish Cemetery Golders Green Jewish Cemetery, usually known as Hoop Lane Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery in Golders Green, London NW postcode area, NW11. It is maintained by a joint burial committee representing members of the West London Synagogue and ...

, in London, England.

References

1911 births 1996 deaths British advice columnists Jewish advice columnists British women columnists British journalists British women journalists Officers of the Order of the British Empire English Jews Burials at Golders Green Jewish Cemetery {{UK-journalist-stub