IT was in a summer review on the Palace Pier that saw Constance Mary Edwards first discovered as an actress.

Determined in her mid-teens to become an actress, her charm and talent shone through when she was spotted at the Palace Theatre in 1928.

She grew up to become Constance Travis - the West End star and a leading philanthropist - who died aged 104.

Born on April 24, 1911, she moved from Stockport to Sussex with her family aged 12. They ran a greengrocer's shop in Shoreham and eventually lived in Lancing.

Her chance for stardom was followed by work in a number of West End musical shows, beginning with Topsy and Eva at the 2,000 seater Gaiety Theatre in Aldwich. Later she spent prolonged periods at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - where she appeared as Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers - and His Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket.

She also had a smaller role in Nine Till Six, the first film made at Ealing Studios after it had begun to use sound.

Her acting stopped when she married Ray Travis in December 1936 and moved to Northampton. The pair fell in love when they met after taking singing lessons, despite him telling her she would never make it as a singer.

The newlywed Mrs Travis had a slight shock on her honeymoon in Eastbourne when her hotel chambermaid greeted her with tea and the words "He's gone ma'am." It transpired she was referring to the abdication of Edward VIII and not a swift departure of her new husband.

Mr Travis' family owned timber importer Travis Perkins.

Her son Tony said: "She always loved Brighton and Shoreham and sent her daughter to boarding school nearby. She would travel there to see her parents and two brothers in Lancing whenever she could get away from the theatre.

"Her gentle nature stemmed from her happy childhood and was gifted to all those who knew her. We were very lucky."

While on holiday in Tuscany aged 78 she had a near-fatal stroke that left her confined to a wheelchair until her death on December 24 last year.

This did not limit her, it only spurred her on to set up the Constance Travis Charitable Trust, using her shares in Travis Perkins.

The trust gives away more than £2 million a year to registered charities dedicated to the arts, medical research and patient care - including the Red Cross and Oxfam. She marked her 100th birthday by handing out £100,000 to each of her favourite charities through the trust.

Mrs Travis is also survived by daughter Hilary.