DANCER and beloved great-grandmother Barbara Bayton died at Forest Holme Hospice in Poole on June 3, aged 83.

Born and raised in Richmond-Upon-Thames in 1930, Mrs Bayton spent much of her life travelling around the world with her husband Dennis, a British Army band leader from nearby Kingston.

They were married in 1949 when she was 19 years old, and straight away they moved to Hong Kong where he had been stationed for two years. Later postings would take the young family to Aden, Malaya, Germany and Kenya.

Mrs Bayton loved her travels abroad and had a whale of a time dancing, socialising and getting involved in music wherever she could.

She and her husband had four children on their travels, Lynne, Richard, Denise and Deborah, who were quite a handful, although in many places she had help from a nanny.

After Mr Bayton left the service they returned to England where he worked as a highly sought after music copyist in London, and even had a small part in the 1985 film Reunion at Fairborough.

They attempted to settle down in Surrey, but before long they moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in the United States where they lived for nearly five years as Mr Bayton explored big band music.

They moved to Poole in the early 1990s to be near family, and Mr Bayton threw himself into the local music scene, setting up the Dennis Bayton Big Band, among other groups, and performing regular gigs at clubs in the area and on Poole Quay.

Mrs Bayton indulged in her passion for dancing at the Ferndown Royal British Legion and wherever her husband was performing.

A few years after he died in 2000 – following a 51-year marriage – she found companionship with her new partner Ray Smith, and they lived together in Wimborne for eight years until her death.

Her daughter Lynne Imeson, of Upton, said: “She was absolutely beautiful and a real flirt, she found it very easy to talk to people and was a lovely person to be around.”

In her youth she was compared with American actress Jane Russell, and as well as her looks she was well-known for her grace, poise, good manners, stylish dress sense and warmth.

“When she came into the room she was always the centre of attention,” added Mrs Imeson.

“She was strong-willed but she made people feel at ease, and her death has left a big hole in our lives.”

She leaves nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, as well as her partner Mr Smith.