Downsizing, and losing a great part of a treasured library, make for sadness. Entrusting it all to Dominic Winter and Co., has taken much of the pain away, and through them and their careful work I wish anyone, who comes to possess anything that was mine, as much joy and pleasure as it has given me through the years. Robert Hardy CBE FSA FHA April 2015
Timothy Sidney Robert Hardy CBE FSA (born 19th October 1925) is one of Britain’s most enduringly successful actors, with a career in theatre, film and television spanning seven decades. He was born in Cheltenham, the son of Jocelyn (née Dugdale) and Henry Harrison Hardy, headmaster of Cheltenham College. He was educated at Rugby School and read English at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied under J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. It was at university that Robert Hardy first met Richard Burton, at first someone he loathed, but later to become his closest friend. Robert Hardy’s acting career is firmly rooted in Shakespearian and other classical theatre roles, working early in his career with the likes of Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Dorothy Tutin and Judi Dench. However, he is probably best remembered as the explosive yet kind hearted Siegfried Farnon in the long-running television series ‘All Creatures Great and Small’, and his most critically acclaimed performance was the title role in ‘Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years’ in 1981, for which he won a BAFTA. His portrayal of Britain's wartime leader was so accurately observed that he went on to play the great man on eight subsequent occasions. More recently he has shown his versatility by earning praise as the blinkered Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, in the Harry Potter films. Not content with reaching the top of the ladder in one profession, Robert Hardy is also a highly-regarded medieval military historian and expert on the longbow, an interest first developed when playing the part of Henry V. He has published two important works on the subject: ‘Longbow: A Social and Military History’ and ‘The Great Warbow’. He was one of the experts consulted during the raising of the Mary Rose, and was Master of the Worshipful Company of Bowyers of the City of London from 1988 to 1990. Robert Hardy’s first marriage (1952-1956) to Elizabeth Fox was followed by a second (1961-1986) to Sally Pearson. Sally is the daughter of actress Dame Gladys Cooper, whose other daughter, Joan Buckmaster, married the actor Robert Morley. As Robert Hardy approaches his ninetieth birthday he continues his work and pursuits with undiminished vigour. On being asked if he had ever written his memoirs his characteristic response to us was “No, I’ve never had time!”