Evelyn Gardiner

Evelyn Gardiner (12 March 1894 – 13 June 1970), born Enid Mary Griffin, was an English opera singer and actress known for her work as principal contralto in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and J. C. Williamson, as well as for other stage acting. In 1933, Gardiner earned a pilot's licence and claimed to be only the second British actress ever to do so. a manager at Liberty's, the London department store. She was educated in London and Paris.

Gardiner joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1921 singing in the chorus of their Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Within months, she was cast as the understudy for the company's principal contralto, Bertha Lewis. Her first principal role with the company was Inez in The Gondoliers in 1923, and the following season, she occasionally filled in as the Duchess of Plaza-Toro in that opera. She left the Company in 1925. Gardiner next appeared in films and in pantomime and variety. She appeared in plays in London at the Regent Theatre from 1928 to 1931. and continued to perform in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the Williamson company until 1951. She married Lieutenant Colonel Richard L. York, DSO in 1940 and enjoyed horseback riding, hunting and fishing, as well as drawing and interior decoration. Gardiner was awarded an M.B.E. (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for her services in raising support in Australia for relief efforts such as "Bundles for Britain". She retired from the stage in 1960 and then directed Gilbert and Sullivan operas for such amateur groups as the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Sydney.

Gardiner died suddenly at the age of 76 in Honolulu, Hawaii, while on a visit there.