Joan was best known under her surname ‘ Keddie’, although eight years before her death she married Captain James Taylor, M.C., of Edinburgh. Born and brought up in Newport where her singing soon attracted admiration, she was for a long time in the choir of St Mary’s Parish Church in Dundee, taking part in local concerts and amateur opera. When she became a professional she went from Dundee to London where she was taken up and given important roles by Mr D’Oyley Carte and other leading entrepreneurs.

She toured extensively and was one of the most admired performers of her generation – as the May Queen in Merry England and Diana in Rob Roy amongst many other parts. She died in a Glasgow hospital, aged about 25-30. In that short life she had become a famous actress and singer, popular both with the public and in the profession.