Decima Moore

Lilian Decima Moore was born in Brighton, where her father was the county analytical chemist for Sussex. She had four sisters, all of whom were on the concert platform or the stage as singers. Her preferred roles were in musical comedy and light drama. Moore made her debut in London, aged 17, at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889, playing "Casilda" in the Gilbert and Sullivan opera, "The Gondoliers". It was a hit and more work followed. Two of her roles mentioned by George Bernard Shaw in his book, "Our Theatres in the Nineties", were in "The White Silk Dress" and "Lost, Stolen and Strayed". In 1901, Moore was playing in both "A Diplomatic Theft" at the Garrick Theatre, London and "The Swineherd and the Princess" at the Royalty. In 1894, in Richmond, New York, whilst touring in the show "The Gaiety Girl", Moore married a fellow cast member, 'Cecil Ainslie Walker-Leigh'. Later, in 1896, to please her mother, she had a church wedding in London. A son was born in 1898, but Moore subsequently divorced her husband for adultery and cruelty, the divorce being finalised in 1902. She later married Brigadier General Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, governor and commander-in-chief of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and British Guiana. Moore continued to act in the theatre until 1914, after which she was engaged on war work in France, for which she was awarded a CBE in 1918. She later held various official positions including, in the 1920s, that of Honorary Exhibition Commissioner for the Gold Coast at the British Empire Exhibition. She was also a member of the Actress' Freedom League and the International Woman's Franchise Club. In 1931, Moore appeared in the film Nine Till Six (1932).