ICE skater Angela Hamilton, who toured around the world with the Ice Follies for two decades, died at home on Thursday, April 3, aged 89.

Born in Christchurch in August 1924, Ms Hamilton was the daughter of Colonel William Hamilton-Supple, retired, from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, who was himself a keen skater. He and her mother were among the founders of Bournemouth’s Westover Ice Rink.

Ms Hamilton was home tutored by a governess and later attended Queen’s Mount School, and on leaving immediately pursued her dream of becoming a professional ice skater at the Westover rink.

Her sister Violet was a competitive skater and British pairs champion from 1933 to 1939, taking part in the Berlin Olympic Games.

However, Ms Hamilton joined Ice Follies – a touring ice skating show founded in 1937 – and she toured with the company, visiting most of Europe, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand before retiring at the age of 37.

The show toured in each of the latter two countries, for more than a year, and as a sun worshipper she particularly enjoyed those stays.

During the Second World War her career was put on hold and she joined the Red Cross to assist with the war effort, but she was soon back skating again.

She married in 1955, however the union did not last long and they separated a couple of years later.

Her daughter Francesca was born in September 1957 and due to Ms Hamilton’s commitments with the Ice Follies, she lived with her grandparents for two years.

As she got older her mother, now lead skater, took shorter tours to Europe, avoiding tours in countries which took her too far from home. She also worked as a model and did some acting work.

The end of her professional skating career was not enough to keep her off the rink, and she continued skating into her 70s, much to the consternation of her family.

She worked in a cocktail bar at Branksome Towers, and later as a receptionist in a casino.

Although in her 50s at the time, she had always looked young for her age and told her employers she was 32.

While working at the casino in the 1970s she was targeted by a mugger, but true to her feisty and strong-willed reputation she scared him off.

In her 60s, she inherited some money from her parents and retired for good, but continued working hard to raise funds for various charities, and in particular animal charities.

An independent spirit, Ms Hamilton didn’t like to be tied down in her old age, and she was well known around Highcliff, where she lived for many years, for being out and about, fashionably turned out and full of interesting stories.

Her funeral takes place at Bournemouth Crematorium on Thursday, April 17, at 12.45pm.