Henrietta Lister

Henrietta Mabel Lister (also known as Laretta Listakova, Henrietta Listakova and H. M. Burrill-Robinson; 1895–1959) was a British watercolourist, dancer, and race driver.

Henrietta Lister
Black and white photo of a white woman in an old race car. Several men stand around.
Lister in her Aston Martin c. 1925
Born1895
Died1959 (aged 64)
Other namesLaretta Listakova
Henrietta Listakova
H. M. Burrill-Robinson
Occupation(s)artist, dancer, driver

Early life

Lister was born in 1895 and her parents were Charles Lister (a doctor) and his wife.[1][2] She attended the Slade School of Fine Art at University College London.[3]

In 1914, Lister, using the stage name Laretta Listakova, was part of a dance company that was touring Bulgaria and Serbia when World War I began.[4] Lister joined Elsie Inglis's Salonika-based Scottish Women's Hospitals unit as a driver, under the auspices of the French Red Cross.[4] For her contributions, she was awarded a British War Medal and Victory Medal, and a Serbian Medal for Zeal.[4]

Motor racing

Between 1924 and 1928, Lister raced a Bamford-type Aston Martin at the Brooklands racetrack in Surrey.[5][6] She is recorded as having participated in twelve meetings, competing in 22 different races or events.[6] Jack Waters (who went on to star in films and television as Jack Warner) acted as her mechanic and sometimes drove her car.[5]

Some sources report that she sometimes called herself "Henrietta Listakova",[5][3] whom newspapers reported as being a "Russian ballet dancer" who raced cars in Britain and America.[7] In 1923, Listakova performed in a charity ballet organized by a Mabel Lister in London.[8]

Later life

In 1935, Lister married William Robinson Burrill-Robinson of Elm House, Redmire, North Yorkshire.[1] Lister appears to have given up her adventurous hobbies and turned to watercolours, exhibiting as part of the Castle Bolton Group.[3][9]

Lister died in 1959 at the age of 64.[2]

References
  1. "Forthcoming Marriages". The Times. 2 January 1935. p. 13.
  2. "Obituaries: Mrs. Henrietta Mabel Burrill-Robinson". The Daily Telegraph. 22 September 1959. p. 12.
  3. Everett, Betsy (16 January 2015). "Extraordinary family story of woman who gave away millions". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  4. "Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria (28 February & 1 March 2018): Lot 168". Noonans Mayfair. 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  5. H-G, Rachel (23 February 2023). "Speedqueens: Henrietta Lister". Speedqueens. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  6. Williams, Jean (24 April 2014). A Contemporary History of Women's Sport, Part One: Sporting Women, 1850-1960. Routledge. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-317-74666-9.
  7. "Racing Amazon". The Sunday Gazette. Atlantic City. 16 November 1924. p. 14.
  8. ""Kushaiah": Charity Ballet by Miss Mabel Lister's Pupils". Middlesex County Times. 15 December 1923. p. 11.
  9. "Art in the Dale". Newcastle Journal and North Mail. 14 August 1940. p. 4.
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