MOURNERS are expected to pack into Kingsdown Crematorium to pay tribute to Swindon soprano singer Una Boffin.

Una Grace Boffin, whose real last name was Rouse, is well remembered by the older residents of Swindon as the woman with the wonderful voice who was able to fill the old Empire theatre.

Her funeral was being held at the Kingsdown Crematorium, where songs from one of her two records were expected to be played.

Her husband, Norman Rouse, paid tribute to the woman who was known throughout Swindon for her singing career.

During the 1930s she was a regular singer at the Empire Theatre, where in 1937 she took one of the lead roles in the musical Goodnight Vienna.

Mr Rouse said: "There were no microphones in those days.

"She used to fill the theatre with the power of her voice."

Mrs Rouse was also well known for her performances at Swindon Playhouse, which is now known as the Mechanics' Institute.

When World War Two broke out in 1939, she went to work at RAF Lyneham as a driver in her bid for the war effort.

After the war, she went back to her first love, music, and continued to sing in the Empire Theatre until the 1960s.

When she finished her solo career she carried on her love of music and the arts by teaching speech and drama at the couple's home in Wroughton.

As well as being a well respected soprano, Mrs Rouse was also a founder member of the Springfield Ladies Club and Wroughton's amateur music society.

Mr Rouse, 71, who married his wife in 1959, said she is sadly missed.

She died on Tuesday, November 14 after suffering from pneumonia. The couple did not have any children.

"She used to sing around the house and it is very quiet here without her," he said.

"She was a wonderful lady and had an absolutely beautiful voice.

"I will always have very fond memories of her."