Biography

Renee Marshall, nee Scott, was born on 26 August 1916 to John Henry Scott and Emma Scott (nee Baker). John and Emma had four other children, William John (1924-1987), George, Priscilla and Emily Rebecca.

Renee’s early life was spent travelling on the circus in England and Ireland with her brothers, sisters and cousins; the Kayes family. Renee performed in the circus from the age of six and by 1932, age sixteen, she featured in five acts in the family show: the vaultage (which opened the show), the perch, the trapeze, the breakaway ladder (with her brother Johnnie) and the double act on horseback with her father. The double act on horseback had originally been performed by Renee’s mother, before being passed on to Renee herself.

Renee’s early talent soon became a focus of attention and by 1932 she was featured by The World's Fair correspondent in Ireland.

According to her younger brother, George, Renee was the make-up girl, looked after the children, opened the show, found food when they were hungry and was a tremendous artiste.

Eventually the family left Ireland and returned to England where they appeared on fairs throughout Yorkshire and Lancashire. Renee recalls how the circus that appeared on the fairground operated in very different conditions to what they were used to, with twenty to thirty shows a day.

Renee was continuing a family tradition; the Scott family had been performers since the 1850s, and their royal circus appeared not only before Queen Victoria but also before King Edward. Scott's Royal Circus incorporated both family acts and star performers into the show (which had forty horses, clowns, trapeze and high wire acts), with members of the family appearing at the top of the bill.

Renee continued performing in the circus with her family until her marriage to Walter Marshall (1916-1970) in 1938. Renee and Walter met at Bolton New Year Fair in 1935-1936.

Renee married Walter Marshall a Yorkshire fairground showman and joined the Marshall family business travelling the Yorkshire fairgrounds.

Renee and Walter had a daughter, Sandra, born in 1940.

Renee died in 2000

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