Corona Stage Academy - Pre-World War II

Pre-World War II

The origin of the name of Corona came from Knight herself. She was born on 22 June 1911, which happened to be the coronation day of King George V; she was given the name Cora by her parents in celebration of the day. Her family always called her Rona, so this was to become the name by which she was known for the rest of her life; it seemed fitting therefore to incorporate the name and its origins in the name of her school.

As the number of pupils grew, and the age-range varied, the younger children became known as 'Corona Babes' while the older pupils were called the 'Corona Juveniles' or 'Corona Kids'. These children worked all around the British Isles in music hall and variety alongside well-known adult performers of the day, including Gracie Fields and many others.

In 1936, the Knight family moved to 26 Wellesley Road, Chiswick, which was a spacious, double-fronted house near to Gunnersbury station. The property gave Rona and her sisters plenty of room to continue teaching the young pupils dancing, acting and singing. The school continued to flourish over the next three years, until 1939 when the threat of war began to loom over the country.