Born in London, where her father is reputed to have built the first cinema, the young Miss Davis was sent to a Jewish school in Bonn, Germany, before the First World War. On her return to England in 1914, she eloped with her sweetheart, Alec Jonas. Subsequently, her mother insisted they be married "properly" at the New West End Synagogue, London.
Florrie opened a ladies' fashion salon in the inter-war years near Marble Arch, which was later incorporated into a Marks & Spencer store. She and her husband then retired to the South of France, but that idyllic life came to an end when they had to catch one of the last ships bound for England in the face of the advancing German armies in 1940.
The couple came to live in Bournemouth in 1946, and she still occupies the same flat on the East Cliff. A talented water-colourist, she still paints regularly, her artistic flair as vigorous as ever.
Councillor Mrs Jacky Harris, the Mayor of Bournemouth, attended a surprise celebratory lunch given by her family at a local hotel. Mrs Jonas is a long-standing member of the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation.>>
