Janet Ingram

Mrs Ingram was a popular sight around the town, invariably wearing her jaunty Mary Quant style hat and leading her Yorkie dog Coco.

She was found unconscious in her home late on the evening of July 2 by friends who had become concerned at not seeing her during the day.

Mrs Ingram was taken to the Great Western Hospital where she remained in a coma until she died two days later.

In Marlborough she was known as a collector and, in her earlier days, an antiques dealer. Few people knew that she and her twin sister, Patsy, were among the famous Tony Twins who appeared in TV and newspaper commercials in the 1950s.

Mrs Ingram was born in London where her father Gordon Beckles was editor of the Daily Mail and, in her late teens she was able to count a number of actors, including Nigel Davenport, among her friends.

Her husband, Tony Ingram, died about 40 years ago and Mrs Ingram began doing up and selling houses as a way of making a living.

She had many friends including actors and politicians of the day and was able to travel extensively with them.

She and her husband had bought a house in Mildenhall which was her introduction to the Marlborough area but they sold it many years ago to the late Lord Brooke of Cumnor.

About 12 years, while living in Cornwall, she decided to buy and do up a cottage in Silverless Street, Marlborough.

She sold the cottage and moved just across the road to a new home where she was found unconscious on July 2.

Her sister Patsy Alliott, who lives near Slough, recalled their success in becoming minor celebrities as the Tony Twins. “There were other Tony Twins of course but we appeared in commercials and on television and the advertisement was very successful,” Mrs Alliott said.

Mrs Alliott said her sister had made many friends in Marlborough. “The people of Marlborough were so lovely to her and have been so kind since her death,” she said.

Mrs Ingram is survived by her sister and their older brother Tony Beckles-Wilson.