Ann Stephens

Ann Stephens was a British child actress and singer, who was popular in the 1940s. She was born in London, the daughter of Lucian and Kathleen Stephens, with an elder sister Jill and a younger sister Helen. In July 1941 she recorded several songs, including a popular version of "The Teddy Bears' Picnic", "Dicky Bird Hop" and a setting by Harold Fraser-Simson of one of A. A. Milne's verses about Christopher Robin, "Buckingham Palace," which was often featured on the BBC Light Programme's Children's Favourites. In the same year, Stephens had made her recording debut as Alice in musical adaptations of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. She was chosen for this role from some 700 applicants auditioned by the record company His Master's Voice.