From the Olympics to Punch and Judy

Dorothy Shirley-Emerson. today: very lively

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

Martyn Meets... Dorothy Shirley-Emerson, part two
SO, where were we up to in the life and fascinating times of Oldham’s Olympic silver medal high jumper, Dorothy Shirley-Emerson?

That isn’t as stupid a question as it might appear, for trying to keep pace with the twists and turns of Dorothy’s mind as we raced from subject to subject was often too much for my failing combination of Pitman’s and T-Line shorthand. Dorothy’s life has been a headlong thrash that continues to this day in her 75th year.

Dorothy is the Failsworth girl who shot to international fame through athletics, beating the odds all along the way to achieve her sporting dreams.

Her personal roll of honour is quite remarkable — a silver medal at the Rome Olympics of 1960 to build on the bronze she won at the 1958 European championships in Stockholm. She missed the 1964 Games in Tokyo through injury and finished eighth in the Mexico Olympics of 1968.

But these tell us next to nothing about the single-minded, dedicated woman who continues to plough new furrows in a field of life filled with laughs and not a little tragedy.

She travelled the world taking part in Olympic Games, Europa Cups and Commonwealth Games — but never won an international gold medal. Why? She put her chin in her hands and gave a deep sigh.

Dottie - she’s my friend now - replied: “Well, there was always this Romanian girl, I can’t remember her name, and, well, in those days ...”

Her voice trailed away and I had to read between the lines at the rest. Dorothy Shirley-Emerson is far too proper and polite to suggest anything untoward, but did I detect a note of irritation?

But in a flash the melancholy was gone, replaced by the flashing smile and her disconcerting frankness.

“Maybe I just didn’t try hard enough,” she admits. “Looking back, I should have done — gold medals open doors, silvers don’t.”

Not that too many doors remained closed to the bubbling personality of Dottie, which charmed everyone from head teachers and college principals to those in charge of British athletic teams.

One occasion came when she was competing in the Commonwealth Games in Australia. Thoroughly enjoying life Down Under, she discovered a number of open tickets were available to athletes who wished to stay on. She got one, naturally, and spent several happy months acting as a nanny to the child of a medical couple who persuaded her to study to be a dietician at Perth Hospital.

While she was away her “dream job” came up and Dottie applied to work for the CWS in Manchester looking after publicity and visitors.

By now she had determined to sail home and see the world. So began a series of long-distance communications by letter, collected and answered in Bombay, Aden and Gibraltar.

She got the job, but five years later was made redundant by a short-sighted new executive who very quickly left the post.

The single-minded and focussed Dottie was offered a job in the CWS margarine works; but her sporting prowess opened better doors and she was offered a place on a teacher training course for mature students at Chorley College. Those long evenings at night school gaining five O-levels had finally paid dividends.

Suffice to say Dottie secured her teaching qualifications and found herself working at Bentham Grammar School near Lancaster.

And so began life after competitive athletics. Dottie had found her natural vocation and enjoyed a rewarding teaching career.

Her parents had sold their business and moved to Lees - and since Dottie was constantly borrowing her dad’s car she ended up with a new Fiat 500 for £417.

“I was still single and my parents said they had saved money for my wedding, which wasn’t on the horizon. They asked if I wanted the car instead.”

The custard-coloured baby Fiat became her constant companion on the journey from north Lancashire to Lees.

Then came the event that changed her life: meeting husband-to-be Jack Emerson.

There was a mutual attraction between the former Olympic athlete and the dapper graphic designer and part-time cabaret magician.

it took a while for them to get together but eventually they did, staying together for 24 years before Jack died.

In addition to her memories, Jack also left Dottie was another skill: entertainer. As the cabaret scene changed, so did Jack’s act. He became a children’s entertainer and Punch and Judy man.

Fifteen years ago he was taken ill during a show and Dottie jumped up to take over: “I had no experience other than watching Jack for years,” she laughed.

But she soon acquired experience: these days she has a diary of regular bookings as a Punch and Judy show.

Olympic athlete, teacher, Punch and Judy act — you just don’t know who you are sharing a coffee with when you meet Oldhamers...