Joy Laurey was a British puppeteer, puppet maker and artist whose career spanned wartime theatre, the pioneering years of children's television and more than half a century of creative work.

Born Joy Johnson, she came from a family with a strong theatrical tradition. Her great-grandfather was the celebrated Drury Lane clown Sam Laurey, whose surname Joy later adopted for the stage.

During the Second World War, Joy performed with her mother, Dorrie, and her younger sister, Honor, as the Jonathan Laurey Puppet Company. Their work took them into the Entertainments National Service Association, better known as ENSA, where they performed for service personnel. After the war, the company continued with theatre appearances, civic engagements and summer seasons at seaside venues.

Joy's life changed in 1950 when BBC producer Michael Westmore invited her to create and perform a new puppet for Whirligig. The result was Mr Turnip, designed, made and operated by Joy and voiced by actor Peter Hawkins. Mr Turnip became a central figure in the programme and one of the earliest stars of British children's television.

Joy later designed and made the puppets for Roberta Leigh's The Adventures of Twizzle, produced by Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis. She also helped operate the characters during production of the series.

Away from television, Joy continued to draw, paint, design and develop new puppet ideas. Her surviving work reveals an artist with a lively imagination, a keen eye for character and an exceptional understanding of how a puppet could communicate through the smallest movement.

Today, the Joy Laurey Archive brings together the objects and stories that remain, helping to restore her place in the history of British puppetry and children's entertainment.