Our Gracie's elephant turns up in town!

A LOCAL woman has discovered that an ornate, pottery elephant which has pride of place in her home was once owned by the famous singer Gracie Fields.
Margaret Birchall, of Eagle Brow, Lymm was given the elephant by her cousin, Jean Highley, when she went into a nursing home.
On examining it closely she found a note taped underneath which indicated that it had once been owned by “Our Gracie.”
Mrs Birchall said: “The elephant was given to my cousin by Grace Orbell, a niece of Gracie’s sister who, in turn, had been given it by Gracie herself.
“I obviously don’t know the details, but it may be that Gracie acquired the elephant when she lived on Capri.”
The elephant was made in Italy and commemorates the Battle of Lake Trasimene (217 BC), when the Roman army was virtually annihilated by the Carthaginans, led by the legendary General Hannibal – famous for using elephants to take his army over the Alps.
Gracie Fields was born over a chip shop in Rochdale in 1898 and died in 1979 – the same year she was made a Dame of the British Empire.
Known as “Our Gracie” or “The Lassie from Lancashire” she made numerous films and hit records and was at one time the highest paid entertainer in Britain.
Pictured: Mrs Birchall with the elephant