Irene Joan Marion Sims was born on 9 May 1930 in Laindon.  Her father, John Henry Sims, was the Station Master for Laindon Train Station.

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Joan would entertain passengers on the station as they waited for their trains.

Sims became famous to millions when she joined the Carry On team in 1959 for ‘Carry on Nurse’.  Her last appearances cames in 1978 for ‘Carry On Emmannuelle’.  Joan appeared in 24 of the 31 Carry On films.

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She also starred in ‘Doctor in the House’ in 1954, and did so in 5 of the seven ‘Doctor’ series.

Sims released three singles in 1963, but none of them entered the UK charts.  This has resulted in these records being quite rare.

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Joan made appearance in the 1987 Christmas Special of Only Fools and Horses and was a regular as Mrs Wembley in ‘On The Up’ from 1990 until 1992.  From 1994 til 1998 she was a regular in the BBC sitcom ‘As Time Goes By’.

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Her autobiography, ‘High Spirits’ was published in 2000.

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Joan died on 27 June 2001 from liver failure and diverticulitis.  She had appeared in over 70 films in a 40-year period, and had a television career that lasted for 50 years.