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CEN TR AL LO CATI ON
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LU XURYH OT EL BOAT
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AL LI NCLUS IVE TR AV EL
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onboardentertainmentsuchaslive musicians, games,quizzes,and adaily tour.High-speed Wi-Fiisavailable throughout thejourney
Furthermore,a pre-cruise hotel extensionpackage is ofered at a partner hotelinGloucester forthose wishingtoavoid alast-minute rushon theday of boarding.
With itsfocus on convenience,luxury, and personalised service,EnglishHoliday Cruisesstandsout as atop choice for travellerslookingfor an exceptional holiday in England.
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An excellentholiday cruise companystafed and managed by ver y caring and interesting people. Iwillbebooking one of my next year's holidays with them ver y soon. Oneofthe best cruises Ihaveeverhad theprivilege to be on. AL AN,SOUTHAMPTON
Among thet rick iest aspect s of maga zi ne produc tion is fndi ng adecentf ront cover image. Wh ilemagazines of tencom mi ssion photog rapherstocaptu re abespoke shot , as anosta lg ia title, we arel im ited by what is avai lablei nt he arch ives.Awel lcomposed shot ca nsufer from qual it y issues,whi le acri sp imagemay notbe entici ng at al l.
Luck ily, we have afew tricks up ou r sleeves, andmycol leag ue Da rren Hend ley (who createdDecember’sSgt Pepperst ylecover)i soften ca lled on to do a bitoft weak ingtobri ng outt he best in an image. Occa sional ly,Ineedout side assi st ance anda mlucky to know the digita la rt istStuar tHumph ryes
In recent years, St ua rt ha scolou ri sed photog raph sfor theRoyal Ma il ’s VE Daypresent at ionpacks andrestored Edwa rd ia nautochromes –early colour images,which,t ha nk stoh is sk il ls,look as if they were ta kenyesterday.However,
DOCTORSTU
If rstbecameawa re of hi mwhen, as BabelColou r, he coloured severa lblack and wh iteDoc torW ho cl ipsa nd photog raph s.
Fort he Ja nuar yi ssue,Ical ledonStuar t to colour andrestore aver yropey black andwhite shot of BigDaddy.Stuar t
followed th is up with Te Ra ilway Ch ildren imageu sedfor theFebruar y cover, theshotofPat rick Macnee as John Steedt hatappea rs on thef ront of theJune issue, la st mont h’sPleaseSir!cover and, of course,t he Love Ty Neig hbou rshott hat graces thef ront of th is issue.
St ua rt ’s work is noth ingshort of alchemya nd Ih ig hlyrecom mend av isit to hi swebsite (babelcolour.com), whereyou ca nsee some before anda fter images of some of thosecovers, alongw it hi mages andv ideo cl ipsf romh is ot herproject s.
Tere’s plenty there, it real ly is afea st fort he eyes.But ,bewarned, St ua rt ’s work is high ly addict ive. Although youm ig ht on ly have plan nedtolookath is restored images of Abra ha mLincoln andBil ly the Kid, you’ ll endupstayi ng to read up on howhebroug ht thecolou rbacktoJon Pert wee’scheek s.
BEHIND EN EM YLIN ES
MyD ad ende dh is WorldWar Twoup countr y, be hi nd enemy li ne si nB ur ma .He’ d tr an sfer re dt ot he Comm ando sf romt he Roya lNav y. Tr ai ni ng wa si nt he wi ld soft he we st co as tofS cotl andi naut um n, andt he y ex pe ct ed to invade Norw ay. Natu ra lly, they were pa rt of thei nvasion of nort hA frica.
Du ri ng Op er at ionTorc h( Nove mb er 19 42), Dada nd hi sfel lowc om ma ndos wore Amer ic an un ifor ms .I np ar t, th is wa sdue to prev ious cl as he sb et we en the Br it is ha nd VichyFre nc h, andi np ar tt o encour ageA me rica nt ro op sw ho hadn’t prev ious ly se en comb at
De ploy me nt to thef ar ea st includ ed theo bl ig at or yt ript os ee theTaj Ma ha l andh av in gb oxes of te as enthomet o hi smum .Hea ls oc ontr ac te dm al ar ia
andw as se nt to Ce ylon to re cupe rate . He re ,t he ylos th is me dica lrec ords ,s o he ende dups pe nd in gt wice as long as inte nd ed .Heh ad ha pp ymemor ie sof Tr incoma le e.
Up countr y, be hi nd enemyl ines (w hich Ii ma gi ne wa snot at al ll iket he Rich ardTodda nd DavidMcC al lu mf il m TheL on ga nd theS hort andt he Ta ll) wa sa di fferentm at te r, andher arel y ta lked ab outit, buts tories didc omeout over theyea rs
Once ,t he yd ec id ed to shoota nox. Un fort un at el y, thebul le tb ou nc ed of f it ss ku ll .Not be in gone st og iveupon agoo dide a, they shot it anot he rt hree or four ti me s. St un ne d, it st ag ge re da nd then fe ll down awel l. Idou bt theloc al s we re impres se d, es pe ci al ly it sowner.
At ni ght, on gu arddut y, they mi ght fe el ak ni fe ag ai ns tt he ir th ro at and fi nger st ouch in gt he ir ca pb ad ge .T he n,
ju st as sudd en ly,t he ir vi sitorwou ld be gone .T hi sw as theonl yc ontact they had with thefea rs omeG urkh as .
Therew as ac er ta in boyi sh de li ght in ex pl ai ni ng howt he ywou ld hide ex plos ives in elepha nt du ng on the ro ad s, know in gt hatt he Ja pa ne se would dr ivet he ir ve hicles throu gh it .
Te Br it ai nmydad retu rned to wa s very di ferent to theone he hadlef t. ClementAtt le e’sL ab ou rgover nmenth ad wont he elec tion (e venH ar ry Poll it t’s Commun is tPar ty hadwon twos eats); andt he NH Sw as beinge st abli shed . They hada view th at an oldworld had be en over throw na nd th at nowa ny th in g wa sp os si ble. Be fore be in gd emobbe d, he wa soffered thec ha nc et os er ve on aroy al tour.Hedec li ne da she’ dh ad enou gh of spit andp ol is h.
Next Issue: Spangles
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Editor
SimonStabler sstabler@mor tons.co.uk
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Publishing Director
Dan Savage
Publisher
TimHar tley
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Treasuresinthe
guesshow much it ’s worth?
liners that helped shor ten WorldWar Two.
Aselec tion of recent gems anda previewofauc tionstocome.
RudolphWalker, astarofEastEnders andLoveThy Neighbour.
t s f t m
Rememberingtelevision’sfrstmedical soap opera.
FrithCollection.
and c r of e ly Bennett.
Thelife andcareerofearly television writer Margot Bennet t.
The f r smugglers’ h th now a haven for fans.
Theformersmugglers’haunt that ’s nowa havenfor food fans
Cover: Nina Baden-Semper, Jack Smethurst andRudolph Walker promote theLoveThy Neighbourstage show at Blackpool’sWinterGardens Theatre, 1973
Photograph:ANL/Shutterstock (Coloured, expanded andrestoredbyStuart Humphryes)
50 Long Live Libert y Celebrating150 yearsofLondon’s luxury department store.
52 TheForsy th Saga
Atribute to writer FrederickForsy th
Record Breaking
Sevent yyears of Guinness World Records.
Dave on Flame
Slade’sDaveHilltalks about“theCitizen Kane of popmovies”
Wonder fulMan
Jerr yLordan, asongwriterwho left his mark on the1960s. 64 Barefoot Bruce
Long-distancerunnerBruce Tulloh.
66 Medieval Makeover
Bringing thesplendour of themedieval eratolife.
68 TheRoyal Menagerie
Theanimals once houseinthe Tower of London
70 Puzzle Page and Cr ypticCrossword Teatimeteasers.
74 Bookshelf
This month’sgoodreads
76 Out& About
Things to seeand do in August
82 Back in Time
Doctor WhostarColin Baker remembers.
Fast Work
Dear Simon,
Thehistor yofPitman shor thandtold by Angeline Wilcox in the July edition of Best of British (Write on Time) evoked so many memories.
Iwas amazedtolearn that Isaac Pitman actually createditin1837 with theNew EraEdition published in 1922. Afterleaving Grammar School at 16 in 1956 (I wasnot considered universitymaterial), Iwas enrolled in thesecretarial course at the College of Commerce in Birmingham. Ihad littlechoice, but Dadsaid Iwould always have ajob as asecretar y.
Ifoundmyself in aclass of unruly teenage girlswhose only goal in lifewas to playup, disrupt the class and discussboyfriends Thefrustrated lecturer had little controland declared we were the worst class she had ever had the misfortune to teach. Despite the distractions,Imanaged to learnPitman shorthand and to touch type withacovered keyboard, so youcouldnot peep.
We also attendedclasses in English, economics and local governmentand,after ayear,wewereemployed as probationar y junior shor thand-typists forBirmingham City Council withastarting salar yof
AscotSunday
Dear Simon,
Reading the article TheSportof Kings (and Queens) (June) reminded me of the time IwouldgotoAscot to watchthe horseracing,but Ithink Ienjoyedwhatwas knownas“Ascot Sunday”.The Sundaybeforethe week’s horse racing,people would gather on the heath. Therewereall types there, whatwith tipsters and other celebs,ithad areal feeling
Postbag
TheEditorwelcomeslet ters forthissection.Pictures areappreciated.Let ters maybeeditedsothatwecan includeasmanyaspossible
£229 rising to £486 per annumsubjectto satisfactory ser vice. We then had to pass amedical examination. We took exams in shor thand for70wpm (passed) and 120 wpm (failed) and RSA35wpm typewriting (passed). Though, much later, Iachieved distinction in RSA Advanced 70 wpm typewriting.My50years in employment had begun.
During fiveyears as astrictly monitored junior in the City Treasurer’sDepartment, my shorthand speed andadministrationskills increased. Aftermarriage,Ijoinedthe typing pool in Kellogg’s,Manchester but when it
about the occasion. Also,Henley brings back memories forme, as my wife would go camping with her cousin on the Thames.I’m afraid they chose the wrong placeone time as they were told they could not camp at Henley andhad to move on. Ithinkthey went to Wargrave, just up the road in Berkshire.
Yours
BobbyKnottley Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
wasdiscovered thatIwas the only copy typist who could do shorthand,I wasswiftly promoted to secretar ytothe manager.What astroke of luckbut it did not go down well with the girlsinthe typing pool
Over years and back in theMidlands, Ibecame secretar yand PA to various managers in industr y, followedby25happy and fulfilling years in the NHS. Ihad aver y enjoyable career and retired happyand fulfilled at 66. Istill writenotes in shor thand just like Angeline’s mumbut whetherIcan decipher them is another matter.So, Dad wasright afterall.
Sheila Harris Shirley,Solihull
FeelingLikeaChampion
Dear
Simon,
Thetennis ar ticles in July ’s edition of BoB( YouCannot Be Serious/A True Spor tsman) triggered late 1960s secondar yschoolmemories of the British HardCour tChampionships in Bournemouth
Those were the days when schools were very oftenlimited in the facilities they could offer.Myboys’ school in Bournemouth wasonaver ycentral urban site with no grass areas at all If youwantedtoplaytennis,you had to decamp to one of the local council parks.Lookingback,itsurprises me thatthe school allowedunsuper vised exit to the parkfor afternoon games “onthe wayhome”.But that’sasI remember it with teachers passing by only occasionally
Thebonus to tennis at school wasthatthe master in charge had a personal connection to local tennis clubs and that included the West Hants Lawn Tennis Club.One day, in “tennis class”, the teacherstar ted talk ing about the British HardCour t Championships. Asomewhatdistant idea to most of us.But the upside wasthatthe WHLTC needed ball boys to ser vicethe championships (on theclub’s hardcour ts)and would we be interested? My hand went up at the speed of light.
So thatApril,just beforemyGCEs,I found myself in the coveredway under the club’s centre cour t. Adelightful lady, Miss Drinkwater,was organiser in charge. She had sheets galoreofwho wasplaying whomand in which cour t. Andafter some drill practice,Ifound myselfbouncingballs
to and from the players.Atthe beginning of the week,Iwas only permittedonthe back cour ts because Ionly had blue jeans to wear.Mum to the rescue with someblack trousersfor the rest of the week –upgraded Though Ididn’t make the final When not at work,wewereable to watch some matches and go autograph hunting with Judy Tegar t, Ken Fletcher, and JoyceWilliams among the collection.
FirstClass Family Photo
Dear Simon,
Like Colin Sweeting (Postcard: Candid Camera, July), Itoo have apostcardItreasure.
My paren ts,Flor ri ea nd Ed gar Pa rk ,u sed to livei n Hoddesdon, Her tfordshire. One day, my Au nt ie Ev as ur pr is ed th em wi t ht his postcards he’d happe ned to no ticei nt he local newsagen t’s. It shows Mu m,
Dad and daugh te r, Au drey,i n the Hi gh St re et near the Clock
Towe r.
I’mn ot in the pic turea sI wa sn’t ye tb or n, but thankf ull y my sister is still going strong at 90.
Kind regards
Brenda Mathews
Burgess Hill,West Sussex
Unfor tunately,myprize autograph, Virginia Wade,was over written by another.I’m not sure whyIaccumulatedthree copies of broadcasting commentatorPeter West ’s autograph. But hey,whatfun.
Best regards
Barr yStone Newbury,Berkshire
ForeverGreen
Dear Simon,
Ireally enjoyedreading your excellent interview with Please Sir! actorDavid Barr y (Top of the Form,July). Thelovelymention of JohnAldertonand Pauline Collins taking the remaining cast members out to lunch broughtback memories of the real-life husband and wifeplaying ahusband and wifeinthe London Weekend Television drama series ForeverGreen, which ranon IT Vfrom1989-92.
Therural landscape and seemingly Somerset setting meantIfeltan affinity with the series andthe principal characters,given Ilived out in thesticks in anearby county.I’m surethe chemistry between John Alderton and Pauline Collins waskey to the success of Forever Green. Thereweresome scenes across the three series thatclearly benefitted from the naturalness between the twoofthem Thequalityofthe writingand acting wassuperbbut both were beatenbythe stunning photographyofthe magnificent rural locations which were used.In par ticular,some aerial photographylong before drones came into use.
Other dramas with similar high production values would have been shown on both BBC and IT Vatthis time. So superior,infact, to anythingweare offered nowadays
Jon Harris Viaemail
King of theCones
Dear Simon,
Just read the ar ticle in the June issue about Tonibell ice- cream vans (Food and Drink:Last Vans Standing) and thoughtyou mightlike to hear my stor yofthe same.
In 1960s Birmingham, therewas abiscuit factory runbythe Facchino brotherswho made cones and wafers forthe ice-cream trade.They introduced theMrWhippyice-cream vans in pink and cream.
My brother Stan took on the frst franchisein1960, soon aftergoing into par tnership with his friend Dennis.Ibecame their frst paid employee, which made me the thirdMrWhippyinthe UK
Over the years,wehad manya tussle with the Tonibell vans with them tr ying to
Having aGo
Dear Simon,
My mother,Nena JoverKelty, asked thatI send youthis programme It ’s from the show We’reA ll In It ,w heres he wa so nt he same bill as Wi lfred Pi ck les ( ‘O w Do,‘Ow Are Ye r?, June) . Th is show ra nfor over 20 we eks.M y
Oh,L ord
Dear Simon,
Back in October 2024, ourpostie knocked on our door and jok ingly said,letters and parcelfor youLordGardner.Welaughed and yetitdid make me think:“Iquitelike that”,soIwentonline and checked outhow to purchase alordtitle
Wifeyand Italked it over and thought: “Maybe not,abit presumptuous forthe likes of moi.”However,unbeknown to me,onChristmas morning,I got an email advising me of my title. I am ofcially Lord Sidney Gardner of Hougun Manor,whichwas arranged forbysaidwife.
take over our roundsbyfollowing our vans, then doing our roundsabout 30 minutes beforeweweredue to do them.
These were never as bad as the ice- cream wars thatoccurreddownsouth, it wasalways done in amorefriendly manner.
Keep up the good work.
RayDarby Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire
mother tur ned 21 dur ing the running of this showa nd re membered getting an an tique silver hair br ush as agif tf ro m Ma rjan Rawi cz, the pianist .Ata lmost 102, her memor yfor detail is amazing
RichardKelty
SantaBarbara, California, US
This provides me with aplot of fve squarefeet,whichmeans that, if Isowish, I could be buried on my allotted pieceofthe estate,albeit vertically.Iwas chufedand said: “Whatabout you?” but my wifepointed out thatshe “ain’t no lady ”, so just me
Iexpectthe above is all common knowledge,but afterreading Cardinal Cox’s July piece(An Honour…and aPrivilege?), I thoughtyou mightpass this infoontohim, just in case he does want alordship forunder ffty quid.
Kind regards
Lord SidneyGardner of Hougun Manor Crawley,West Sussex
My Friend Josie
Dear Simon,
Imet Josie when Iwas 13 and returned to our newly built house on the smallholding at Little Woodcote, Wallington, Surrey. I had spentfour years living in acottage in the village of Mick leham, also in Surrey, afterour house in Wallington had been demolished by adoodlebug.Ihad attended the small village school all that time,soitwas ashock to go to a large secondar yschool in Carshalton.
Iwas stillver yshy and ner vous and washoveringatthe entrance when this dark-haired girl with afriendly smile approached me.“Areyou new?” she asked.Inodded.“ Well,come with me.I’llshowyou whereyour classroom is.”
She knocked at adoor andavoicecalled: “Comein.”The teacher wasalso friendly andalthough Iwas disappointed Josie wasn’t in the same class,Imet her again in theplayground and thatwas the star tof 77 years of friendship.She lovedour land asmuchasI didand spent the summer holidays with me.Wedidn’t go farordoanythingexciting: wandering through the woods,feeding thehorses,and mak ing hats out of twigs and flowers.S ometimes,westayedonour land and made camps under the trees
Twoyearspassed quick ly but,after we leftschool,weonly saweach other on Sundaymornings.Josie rode up anddraggedmeout of bed to go to the Oaks Park and look at the oldhouse and the Adam fireplaceand staircase (pulled down in the1960s). Iwas Josie’sbridesmaidbut,bythe time Imarried,Josie hadtwin boys,socouldn’t be mine.
Time went by ;sometimes we onlymet forwhatwecalled “annual birthdaylunches”. Josie wastwo months older than me.Whenthe childrenweregrown, we went on holidaytogetherand laughed the whole time.Now Josie is 90 and Iamabouttobe. Sheis awaiting an operation andmay or maynot be able to come to my par ty.She had asurprise par ty forher 90th and managed to blowout the whole 90 candles herself.
We have sur vived until now. Best friends forever in this worldand the next
Maisie Dance
Purley,Surrey
Canyou help?
Look ing forinformation on the newspaper photographer EWS“Bill ”Byers who worked with the likes of the Ilford Recorder from his ofce at 16 TheBroadway, Ilford Lane Iwouldbegrateful to see anyexamples of his pic tures including football matches and Norman Wisdom’s 1953 appearanceatBarkingside High Street.
Rob Meyers,123 Ashurst Drive, Barkingside,Ilford, EssexIG6 1HA
Is thereanyone outthere who took par tinthe Essex Senior Scout 4th European Expedition to Germanyinthe summer of 1959? If so,Iwould love to hear from you; Ihave anumber of photos butno other paper recordsofour frst ever visit abroad.
David Sansom, Email: davidwsansom@yahoo.co.uk
Ballroom and popular sequencedancing gentleman would like to meet lady,64+ forlocal events (Ilminster/ Tauntonarea). Ihaveanice dancefoor and ajukeboxwith 60s/70s recordsfor practice and improvement.
Julian Bittleston, Tel: 01460 281993
TheFriendsofDover Castle arekeen to fndany information relating to anybodywho wasstationed at,orworked at,Dover Castle either ser viceorcivilian roles Thecastle still had troops quar teredinbarracks there until 1958 and from the 1960s to the 80s,the castle tunnels
were used as acoldwar regional seatofgovernment. These tunnels had previously playedanimpor tantrole during WorldWar Two. We arealso interested in any information relating to Dover Home Guardfor an ongoing project.
TheFriends of DoverCastle, 1Keep Yard,Dover Castle, Castle Hill,Dover,KentCT16 1HUEmail: fodc2025@ outlook.com
Iamlook ing forrelatives of men/women who would have ser vedonthe World WarTwo gun and searchlight batter y, Inner FrowardPoint, near Brixham, Devon. Any information gladly received Chris Martindill,Flat4, Harden House,Trelissick Road,Paignton, DevonTQ3 3GJ Tel: 01803 525483.
Iamtrying to fnda Jef Green, my frst husband ’s brother,fromWok ingin Surrey. My frst husband (Les) and his other siblings areall deceased as far as I know,but it would be nice to catchupwithJef if he is still around,presumably no longer in Woking.Hewas married to Jenny, with at least twochildren, but Ik now they were divorced(in the 1970/80s) and he remarried some years later. Would be in hisearly 70s, Ithink .I was then Doreen Green.
Dee Gordon, 34 Waters Edge,ShorefeldRoad, Westclif-on-Sea SS0
7RH Email: deegordon@ btinternet.com
Requestsfor information, friendsand family searches andreunion announcementscan be included here free of charge.Sendany requests,written as conciselyaspossible,toCan YouHelp?, Best of British, Kelsey MediaLtd,Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle,Linconshire LN96JR or by emailto info@bestofbritishmag.co.uk
Myster ySolved
Dear Simon,
Ma ny ye ars ago,myf at her,E lij ah Je nk ins (p ic tured) , to ld me as to ry of at ri ph eh ad made in 19 29 to Wa les from England on ab ic yc le.M yd ad wa s 16 ye ars old at tha tt ime and wa nted to vis it his 27- ye ar -o ld broth er,H ar ry,w ho wa swor ki ng and l iv ing as acoa lm in er
My dad said it took him atotalofthree days to do the round trip,bearing in mindatthattime there wasnoS evernBridge crossing,hehad to travel via Gloucester,the distanceone waywas 130 miles.On the returnjourney to Bristol,hehad to stop ashe wascompletely exhausted, he fell asleep in ahedge until he recovered. Ioften wondered how he fed himself as therewasn’t fast food about in those days, and the bic ycle he wasusing waswhatIwould call a “Charlie upright”,ithad no three-speed.
Af te rd ad had passe do n, Io ften wo ndered wha t par to fWales he vi sited,a sh eh ad never to ld me. Th is ye ar,acous in of mine who co nt ac te dm es aid she h ad co me acros sab ir th ce rt ifica te fo rt he son of Har ry Jenk ins with an address of Har ry at tha t time.A mazi ngl y, the address wa si nPenygro es,l ess than am ile from my home address; af te ra ll these ye ars,i tw as a re ve la tion, Ih ad be en se arc hing to find ou tw hereH ar ry had lived and Da dh ad visi te di n1 929.
ye ars old and have the answer whi ch Ih ad been
Iw as so plea sed the myster yh ad at last be en solved.Ia m8 5
TheFirst Team
Dear Simon,
As aformer Football Association coach and awriteroffootball nostalgia, Ifound the article TheLost Lionesses by Paul Rance(June 2025) particularly interesting.Paul goeson to mention Dick,KerrLadies FC who were aworks team from Prestonand who would emerge as the frst greatEnglishwomen’s football team.
TheDick,KerrCompanywas formed by twoentrepreneurs in 1883.The two gentlemen were William BruceDick,and John Kerrwho were manufacturers of paintused forships’hulls.The newlyformed company movedintorail transport and tramway manufactureproducing steam locomotives, rolling stock and tramwayequipment
Theattachedphotographsare of aBelliss &Morcomsteam engine generator set,and wasinstalled in Heywood PowerStation Manchester circa 1905. Along with another similar set,itpowered the newelectric tramway system in the Municipal BoroughofHeywood Lancashire. The200KW generator on the left wasmanufactured by Dick,Kerrand Company
This example is sited within the National TramwayMuseum (01773 854321, tramway. co.uk) at Crich, Derbyshire.
Kind regards Roger West (Tramway Museum Guide)
loo ki ng fo r. Best wishes
KenJenkins
TheIsleofOddities
Dear Simon,
Over the late Maybank holiday, agroup of Isle of WightWIs descended upon my museum and yarn bombed as manyof my post boxesaspossible.There were over 100ofthem and some were quiteremarkable
Theevent raised money via donations forthe Cowes Alzheimer ’s Cafe.Weopened specially on the bankholiday Mondaybyrequest forpeople that couldn’t make the weekend.
Some of those ladies should be honoured fortheir work,I just supplied thepostboxes –all 260 of them. So,maybe another time therecould be more?
This sor tofnuttyk nitting is perfectfor the “Isle of Oddities” thatweliveon.
Regards
Ar thur Reeder Isle of WightPostalMuseum Newpor t, Isle of Wight 01983 825193, postalmuseum. co.uk
DollyDaydream
Dear Simon,
IthoughtBest of British readers would like to see my 80-yearold dolly.She wasgiven to me at the par ty forVEDay in the village of Mick leham, Surrey wheremyfamily wasgiven a cottage afterour cottage on my dad’s smallholding in Wallington, Surreywas razedtothe ground by adoodlebug.Iwas 10 and didn’treturntoWallington until I was13. Thedolly sur vived,and is made of wool –but not knitted, moreplaited
Her yellowvelvet ribbonsare very dingy nowand she is abit unravelled but,a bitlike me,she has survived.Iwonder if thereisanyone inMickleham who remembers their grandmother or mother mak ingher? Iwas the shyand ner vous evacuee girl who went to the village school
Maisie Dance
Purley,Surrey
TheCollector
Dear Simon, Th ep iles of newspapers around my stu dy co nstituten ot so much acol l ec tion as am ishmash of in fo rm at io nt ha tI ki dmys elf will co me in useful on ed ay.Pri de of placei sa n or iginal edition of Th eTimes publis hed on the dayIw as bor na nd gi ve ntom ebymyw ifeo nmy6 0th bir thday. A fe wyears beforet he beginning of Wo rl dWardTwo,i tw as re por ting,o minousl y, on the aspir at ion so facer tain Ad olf Hi tler.
Al ongside tha tn ew spaper,you wi ll see the fron tp age of am uch older one,t he first edition of Th eM an chest er Guardian da te d5M ay 1821. Th is wa sp ublis hed by Th eG uardian in 2007 to mar ki ts 50,00 0 th edition. It also published fron tp ages from its arch ives cove ri ng grea te ve nt sove rt he ye ars.The ones Ih avei nclude the abdic at ion of Ed wa rd VIII in 1936, th ed eclar at ion of wa ri n1 939, the dropping of the at omic bom bove r Hi ro shima in 1945, the freeing of Nelson Ma ndela in 1990 and the destruc tion of the Tw in Towe rs on, of co urse,“ 9/11” 2001 .I also have an ex tr ac tf ro mThe Ti mes da te d2 3N ovember 1963 annou ncing th ea ssassina tion o fPre siden tK ennedy.
My co py of Th eG uardian da te d5 May2 021 is as ouven ir edition co mmemor at ing 200 ye ar so fp ub lica tion and showing the va ri ous mastheads used over time.R etu rn ing to special even ts,t he Ti mes newspaper of 7Feb ruar y1 952 sombrely announces Ki ng Ge orge VI ’s dea th. Th es am e paper on 2J une 1953 wa sa n“ Everest Cli mbed –S ouvenir Ed ition”a swell as fe at ur ing Qu een El izabeth II ’s co ro na tion. It re tur ned to the co ro na tion the fo llowing day, of co urse, to re gale us with af lur ry of photogra ph s. St ay ing with roya lt y, Th eTimes of 27 May2 002 mar ked El izabeth II ’s golden jubilee,a dd ing we igh ttomycol l ec tion w ith its 64page su pplemen t.
As the millennium progressed,Iboosted my pile of papers by adding yearly reviewspublished by various papers.For example,aDaily Telegraph supplementinDecember 2005 highlightedEngland retaining TheAshes,the bombing of the London tube,PrinceCharles marr ying Camilla and Tony Blair winning athirdterminoffice.
Ihaveother bits and bobs in my collection, too, like obituaries,lists of significantanniversaries,details of general election results and even TheGuardian’s extremelydetailed list of what MPsclaimed in the expenses scandal of 2009. WhyI thoughtthat might“come in usefulone day”,Ishall never know
PeterDavies Rogerstone, Newpor t, Gwent
The Retr oTVTimes
Classic television on Freeview,Satellite, Cableand Online
Talking Pictures TV talk ingpicturestv.co.uk
SKY328 |FREEVIEW82 FREESAT306 |VIRGIN 445
AHitch in Time (1978)
(Saturday2 August,10.30am)
Family.Director: Jan Darnley-Smith. Starring: PatrickTroughton, Jeff Rawle,Ronnie Brody,SorchaCusack,Michael McVeyand Pheona McLellan. On their waytoschool,two children discover aprofessor trapped inside his owntime machine.
Return of aStranger (1961)
(Monday4 August,11.20am)
Thriller.Director: MaxVarnel.Starring: John Ireland,Susan Stephen, CyrilShapsand Kevin Stoney. Theserene lifeofPam and Johnisshattered when amysterious man stalks them.
Andthe Same to You(1959) (Tuesday5 August,7.35am)
Comedy.Director: George Pollock
Starring: Brian Rix, William Hartnell and Sid James.The boxing-mad nephew ofapious clergyman embarks on an elaborateplan
bbc.co. uk/iplaye r
AllMod Cons
to keep his boxing career asecret
TheDanziger Studios Stor y (Thursday7August, 6.15pm)
Afascinating look at the histor yofthe prolificBritish film and television produc tion companyfounded by the Danzigerbrothers and the studios they established to create features and series in the UK during the 1950s and early 1960s
Linda (1960) (Saturday9August,3pm)
Drama. Director: DonSharp. Starring: CarolWhite, Alan Rothwell, CavanMalone,LoisDaine,EdwardCast, Vivienne Lacey and Keith Faulk ner.Bored south London teenagerPhil joins agang led by the Chiefand begins to be drawnintoaworld ofpetty crime and violence. When he meets Linda, his interest begins to shiftawayfromthe gang and towardsher.Apreviously lost film, recently discovered by Talk ing Pictures TV.
TheDIY Pioneers Thepostwaryearsled to aboom in home ownership and consequently ageneration of fanaticaldo-ityourself home improvers.This programme char tshow DIY transformed the interiors of British homes.
40 Minutes
Hear tofthe Angel Acclaimed obser vational documentar ybyBafta awardwinning directorMolly Dineen, set at London’s Angel tube station in 1989, three years beforeits desperately needed renovation.
In View
Men of Steam First transmitted in 1962, John Betjeman presents a documentar yexploring the impactofthe removal of steam locomotives from British railway ser vices on the railway men who have maintained the system sincethe days of the Great WesternRailway
TheRealStonehouse
Maigret (1960) (Saturday9August,7pm)
My Friend theInspector Asavage murder on the Mediterranean island of Porquerolles provides achange of scene forInspector Maigret(Ruper tDavies).
Politicalstarorblatantfraudster –who wasthe real John Stonehouse? Uncover the truth from his familyand friends about whatreally happened
Robin’s Nest
Aspin- off from ManAbout the House,starring RichardO ’Sullivan, Tessa Wyattand Tony Britton. Robin is nowa fully qualified,unemployedchef,withambitions to open his ownbistrofor peoplewho really appreciate high prices.Helped by his girlfriend, Vick y, and hindered by acer tainM rN icholls,his plans go awry.
ATouch of Frost
With his fumbling manner and hatred of paper work, DetectiveInspectorJack Frost (DavidJason) is a thorninhis superiors’sides.Can his keen sense of justiceprevail despitethis?
ATouch of Frost
FREEVIEW41, SKY148, FREESAT137, VIRGIN 149
Raise the Titanic (1980) (Friday1August,1pm)
Action based on Clive Cussler ’s bestselling novel. During the cold war, asur veyteamtries to salvage the Titanic and find amineral sample thatcouldmake the US impregnable to atomic attack.
They Live(1988) (Monday18August, 1am)
John Carpenter’ssatirical sci-fi adventure, starring Roddy Piper,Keith David and MegFoster. When Nada finds apairof
sunglasses thatreveal the truth aboutthe worldwhen he wears them, he discovers the streets of LA arefull of aliens hell bent on worlddomination.
SKY110, VIRGIN 124, TALKTALK 310, NOWT V
Dad’s Army (Friday1August,2.20pm)
TheRoyal Train Thek ing is coming to Walmington-on-Sea. Captain Mainwaring and the platoon preparetogreet him, butas usual things don’tgoquiteaccording to plan
Red Dwar f (Friday8 August,8pm)
Polymorph Spaceescapades in the much-loved sitcom. Amutant is set loose aboardRed Dwar fand submits thecrewtoahideous 24-hour nightmare, featuring killer underpants.
TheBill (Friday1August,11.40am)
FREEVIEW/YOUVIEW/BT/ TALKTALK 20, SKY143, VIRGIN 130, FREESAT158
Conviction: Riot City Tensions mountbetween Callum and Smithy as the Sun Hill officers undergo extrariot controltraining,and the twosergeants come to blows
Miss Marple (Thursday7August,8pm)
APocketful ofRye Enjoyafeature-length myster ystarring the esteemed Joan Hickson as the sharp- eyed lady sleuth. Afigure from the City is found dead in his office.
TheCurse ofthe Mummy’s Tomb (1964) (Wednesday20August,3.15pm)
Hammerhorrorstarring Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard,Fred Clark and Jeanne Roland.When three Egyptologists discover the tomb of an Egyptian prince, the princesoon returns to lifetohave his revenge upon those who dared to uncover his tomb
Fiend Without aFace(1958) (Wednesday27August,11am)
Nightmarish cult classic.Ascientist experimenting with telekinetic powersucceeds in creating anew form of life, but chaos ensues as the being escapes and begins to rapidly multiply
GreatBritish Railway Journeys (Tuesday5August, 7.35am)
FREEVIEW/YOUVIEW/BT/ TALKTALK 27, SKY155, VIRGIN 129, FREESAT159
Birmingham to Worcester Michael Portillo begins the first leg of a journey from Birmingham to Dar tmoor,working in aRoyal Mail sor ting officeand learning aboutthe origins of the British Medical Association.
Bangers &Cash (Thursday7 August,11pm)
Ma thewsons agre etos ell av in tage threshing machine and co llec tion of tr ac to rs but ex tr ac ting them from aYor kshire far mp rove sa bigger job than an ticipa te d.
WatchD ave, U&W, U&Yesterdayand U&Drama shows on demand with U(u.co.uk) andcatch up on your favouriteprogrammes.
Channels maybeunavailable in certain regions.Ifyou arehaving trouble viewing channels,gotofreeview.co.uk/ freeview-channel-checker or call the Freeview Advice Line on 03456 50 50 50 (Mondays to Fridays,9am-5pm).
Miss Marple A Pocketful of Rye
BRITAIN NOW
TOPICAL SNIPPETSFROM AROUND OUR NATION
Drawing IntoPainting
Th eN at io na lPor tr ai tG al le ry (020 73 06 00 55,n pg .o rg .u k) ha sa cq ui re d12n ew wo rk s fr om th ee st at eo fL uc ia nFre ud ,o ne of Br it ai n’sg re at es tp or tr ai ta rt is ts .T he yi nc lu de ei gh te tc hi ng s, wh ic ha re th ef ir st of th ei rm ed iu mb yFre ud to en te rt he ga ll er y’s co ll ec ti on .B el la in he rPlu to T-Sh ir t(etch in g),w hi ch de pi ct so ne of th ea rt is t’sd au gh te rs , an do th er ne wa cq ui si ti on sh av eb ee np ut on sh ow as pa rt of ar econ fi gu re dd is pl ay in ga ll er y26, Th eM ak in go fa nA rt is t: Th eL uc ia nFre ud Ar ch iv e, wh ic hf oc us es on Fr eu d’s li fe ,a rt is ti ct ec hn iq ue sa nd pr oces se s. Ar ch iv er es ea rc ho ft he acqu is it io ns wi ll al so in fo rm am aj or ne we xh ib it io n, Lu ci an Fr eu d: Dr aw in gi nt oP ai nt in g, wh ic hw il le xp lo re th ea rt is t’sl if el on gp re occu pa ti on wi th th eh um an fa ce an df ig ur ef ro mt he 1930 st ot he ea rl yt we nt y- fi rst ce nt ur y. Op en in go n12Feb ru ar y2026, ti cket sf or th ee xh ib it io nw il lg o on sa le th is au tu mn .
Right: Depictingfashion designer BellaFreud,Bella in herPluto T-Shirt(etching),byher father, Lucian Freud, hasbeenacquiredbythe National Portrait Gallery.
Rose to the TopInto Motion
Th e19t hr os etob en am ed Wo rl d’s Favo ur iteR os e, th er os er efl ec ts th etim el esse le ganceand natu ra l ch ar mt hatG er tr ude Je ky ll he rs el f ch am pi on ed in he rg ar de ns .
Arose, createdbya Shropshire breederin honourofacelebrated garden designer,has been namedthe World’s FavouriteRosebythe WorldFederationofRose Societies( WFRS). The honourwas conferredon Gertrude Jekyll (Ausbord), whichwas introduced by DavidAustinat the1986RHS Chelsea Flower Show,atthe 20 th World Rose Convention in Fukuyama,Japan Exemplif ying thequalities of aclassic English rose,combining rich fragrance, elegantform, anda timeless charm, Gertrude Jekyll refects thespiritofthe great garden designer af ter whom it is named. The WFRS Hall of Fame was establishedinLondon in 1968 andrecognisesexceptional roses througha ballot conduc tedamong itsmembercountries ever y threeyears.The frst rose inducted wasthe cultivar Peacein 1976.Since then,manyoutstandingroses have been honoured, includingDavid Austin’s (019 02 376300,davidaustinroses.co.uk) GrahamThomas(Ausmas)in2009.
Thefrstofa series of murals to mark the200 th anniversar yof theopening of theStock tonand Darlington Railway(S&DR) have been unveiled alongthe S&DR TrailofDiscovery (sdr20 0. co.uk/discover y-trail).K ateJackson’s Motion 20 0atHeighington railwaystation andAdébayo Bolaji ’s Time andPlace at Darlington arethe frst twoofninenew ar tworks to be installed alongthe newtrail betweenWit tonParkinCount yDurham andStock toninTeesValley, whichclosely followsthe original 26 -mile- routeofthe world’sfrstpassenger andgoods train journey. Theunveiling wasorganised as part of thenine- month S&DR20 0festival, whichlaunchedinMarch andcontinues across County Durham andTeesValleyuntil November.Inspiredbythe frst journeyonthe S&DR ,the festival,which is beingdelivered by Darlington BoroughCouncil,DurhamCount yCouncil and Stockton -on-Tees BoroughCouncil,includesa series of free large-scaleoutdoor spec tacles,events, exhibitionsand newart commissionsinpublicspaces, librariesand museums
Kate Jackson’sMotion200,which wasunveiledatHeighington railwaystation as part of theS&DR200 celebrations.
The Crate Escape
Acampaignhas been launched to unlocka centur yofincrediblestories from theR AF’s histor y. TheRoyal AirForce Museum (020 8205 2266,rafmuseum.org.uk)isinviting thepublicand companiestojoinThe Crate Escape,anambitious fundraising campaign to relocate more than 50,0 00 historic objectstoa newcollections hubatthe RAFMuseumMidlands.Currently,lessthan 1% of themuseum’srichcollectionison public display, with many of theremaining treasureshiddenawayina vast storage facility at MODStaford.ThisAladdin’s cave of aviation heritage holdseverything from aircraft andejector seatstouniforms, medals andmemorabilia,eachitemwith itsown remark able stor y.
“The move from Stafordto our Midlands site is no smallfeat,”explains curatorEwenCameron.“Behind the scenes,our specialist staf anddedicated volunteers arebus ypreparing to move more than 50,0 00 objects. This equates to over 31,0 00 hours of work identifying andcataloguing each individual object,
In the September Issue of Best of British
assessingits condition, carr ying outessential conser vation work ,and carefullycleaningand pack ingthe objects, readyfor theirfnal journeytothe museum.”
This enormous logistical operation mark sa keyphase in the widertransformation of theRoyal AirForce Museum’s Midlands site. Duefor completion in summer 2027,the transformation will also include anew permanentexhibitionthat explores theroleofthe RAFfrom1980 throughtospace andc yber defence,along with astate -of-the-ar tlearningcentre andexpandedgreen spaces forvisitorsto enjoy. Theproject hasbeenmadepossible with thesupport of funders including TheNationalLot tery Heritage Fund and theRoyal AirForce,aswellasthe RAF Museum’s owninvestment.
Currentlyhiddenawayina vast storagefacilityatMOD Stafford, an Aladdin’scaveofaviationheritageistobemade accessible to thepublicfor theveryfirsttime.
Thereare threesponsorship tiers available: Bronze (£30), Silver (£100) and Gold (£1,000),which ofer avariety of awards dependingonthe size of thepledge However, regardless of tier,supporterswill receivea unique boxnumber, exclusive behind-the -scenesproject updates, and thethrilling reveal of what ’s inside their sponsoredbox,beitboots,but tons, logbooks,orevenapiece of an aircraft, when it movestoits newhome.
NEXT MONT H
Better Than Blue Peter? Jenny Hanley talks Magpie
Railway200
The bicentenary of the modern railway
DH Lawrence
REGULA RS
The manwho changed literature forever ur and
Your letters and memories in Postbag and Yesterday Remembered, Treasures in theAttic, Food and Drink, Window on the Past, Back in Time With Colin Baker and loads more
On sale from 28th August Orderitnow
Question time
SeeingSteptoe
QWouldyou please letmek nowthe namesofthe cast of Steptoeand Sonatthe BrooksideTheatre,Romford on Saturday 24 May? It wasabrilliant show MaureenWhe eler,Romford,Essex
Best of Brit ishsays: Produced by Cattle Produc tions, acompany better knownfor itsadult pantomimes,Steptoe andSon Live starsDan LewisasAlber t, GiorgioLoweas Harold andTalvBansalinsupportingroles as thevicar,milkman anddoc tor. Thecast, whohavebeenworking together on various produc tionsfor around sixyears,have been receivingplauditsfor thetourwhich recreates four episodes from theclassic television series of the1960sand 70s.
In theaudienceatthe Stockpor tshow were thegreat-grandsonand great- nephew of Harr yHCorbett,who thoroughly enjoyed theshowand believed that theoriginal ac tors wouldhavebeenproud.
Each performanceraisesfunds foralocal charit y, and, in thecaseofthe Romford show,adonationwas made to Strongbones, an organisation that provides fnancial, emotionaland prac ticalsupport to enable disabled children with bone conditions/ cancerstoleadmoreindependent lives.
Currentlytak inga break, thetourreturns in Oc toberwithshows in Nottingham, Carmar then,Bedworth, Morecambe,
Scarborough, Buxton,Gateshead and Grimsby. Fortickets andfur ther information, go to steptoeandsontour.co.uk
Heartburn Hotel
Le sM cC al lu m, wh ow or ke da sad es ig ne r on ma ny BB Cs ho ws in cl ud in gD oc to r Wh oa nd On ly Fo ol sa nd Ho rs es se nt th is ph ot og ra ph ta ke nd ur in gt he pr od uc ti on of He ar tb ur nH ot el (Q ue st io nT im e: AN ew Pl acet oD we ll ,J un e).I ts ho ws Le sw it h pr op sb uy er Sa ra Gr im sh aw on Ha gl ey
CanAny ReaderHelp?
QCananyonehelpidentif ythe origin of this oldspoon?Itbelongs to my mother-in- law. Isuspect it ’s from the1970s or 80sand waspossibly givenawayina brand promotion.
Lyndon Parker,K naresborough, Nort h York shire
ASKUS! If you’ve gotaquestion, theBestofBritish staff will do itsbesttofind theanswer. Occasionally we getstuck andlookto ourreaders for assistance.Whether you’ve got somethingtoask ,can provideananswer, or want to addtothe information provided, please emailinfo@bestofbritishmag.co.uk or writetousatKelseyMedia Ltd, MediaCentre, Morton Way, Horncastle LN96JR .
GiorgioLowe andDan Lewisare thestars of atouring production of Steptoeand Son.
No Al bert Squ are
SimonStabler speaks to astarofEastEndersand Love ThyNeighbour
Evenifyou arethe most dedicated of EastEnders fans,it’sdoubtfu l that youw ill remember much aboutB&B ownerAudrey Trueman. No ofence to Corinne Sk inner-Carter whoplayedthe deeply religiousAudrey, butthe characterisn’t apatch on herformerhusband,Patrick Trueman, played since2001byLoveTy NeighbourstarRudolph Wa lker.
Full of roguishcharm, alove of rumand an eyefor theladies, Patrickcame intoour livesinSeptember 2001, when he walked into theQueen VicfollowingAudre y’s funeral.
Initially contractedfor asix-month stint, Rudolph hasbeenwiththe programme for24years and, in hisown words ,“still enjoying ever yminute of it .”
Born in Tr inidad in 1939, Rudolph caught theacting bug while at pr imar y scho ol.
“WhatIremember of it ,isholding letters of thealphabetinfront of you and reciting thingslike: ‘L is fora little lamb, hisfeece waswhiteassnow.’ And as ayoung actor, theteacher,bless her, remindedmethatI wanted moreletters Well, one wasn’t enough.”
Whileatelementary school, Rudolph ran hisown drama groupbeforejoining , aged15or16, theCompany of Players –Trinidad’s topamateur dramatic group. At 19, he wasinvited by future Nobel Laureate DerekWalcott to join thenewly formed Trinidad Teatre Workshop.
“Wedid all sorts of thingsinthose days . Ican’t remember ever doingShakespeare in anyofthese companies but there werelocal dramas, and we did theodd American play but alot of it wasbylocal writers .Derek Walcottwas one of them.”
Having been exposed to theworkof alot of American actors ,Rudolphhad
considered training in theUnited States . Howe ver,a meeting with theTrinidadian actorErrol John, by then awell-known face on British tele vision, suggested that London wasthe placetobe.
Emigrating to theUK, Rudolph worked as acompositorinthe printindustr yby day, while studying at theCity Literar y Institute, Holbornatnight .
“Wehad theb estofb othworldsin that alot of thedrama te achers weref rom Rada and Lamda, that wa sa se cond job forthem.”
Earning good mone yatthe time, Rudolph could have been temptedto remain in theprint industr y“and make adecentliving ,” but decided: “‘ Youknow what? Iwanttogofull-time in thetheatre.’
Top: AppointedOBE in 2006,Rudolph was promoted to CBEin2020for services to dramaand charit y.
Above: Af termovingtothe UK ,Rudolph attended eveningactingclasses at London’s City Literary Institute, wherehewas taught by staf moonlighting from Rada andLamda.Below:Rudolph made hisflm debutinThe Witches, andoften thinks of itsstar, Joan Fontaine.
So,I just chuckedinmyunion card and decidedtogofull-time.”
As well as theatrical roles, suchas the VoiceofG od in BethlehemBlues, the NegroTeatreWorkshop’s contemporar y retelling of thenativity,Rudolph did alot of walk-on partsontelevision.
“I wasdoing aWednesday Play or aPlayfor Today, one of those, and thedirector, Ican’t remember hisname now,tended to pickme out quitealot from thegroup of actors to do things .Iwas living in this house in Islington, North Church Road. Terewerealot of West Indians in that house and on thestreet. Te ygot to know me; Itoldthem that I’man actor andthe yall just joked. So,this particular night ,Itold them Iwas performing and they all gathered in this room to watchmeon tele vision; food,drinks, games, ever ything .And Isat therefve minutes into theplay, 10 minutes into theplay, no appearance.
“So, all thejokes in thehouse were: ‘Are you sureyou’rein this?’ And suddenly,therewas a glimpse, and Iwas theonly person who noticed it .B ecause this shot wassuchalongshot in the background. In thosedays, Ididn’t know thingswentonthe cutting
Ih ad th at ch oi ce to ma ke,a nd to me it wa sa no br ai ne r, Iwas n’ta fter th em oney, Iwas af te r expe ri
en ce.
room foor.And so,the jokesafter were horrendous, you know :‘Give up acting ’, ‘I thought you said youwereinthisplay.’ Te yexpectedtosee me featured,and I thought Iwould have been featured,so that wasmybaptism to theprofession.” Rudolph’s frst credited role, which hisneighbours would have been able to fnd in theRadioTimes, wasasa policeman in Te Wednesday Play : Fable. WrittenbyJohnHopkins and directedbyChristopher Morahan, theplayimaginedaparallel Britain under theruleofaBlack-dominated totalitarianregime. Rudolph’s castmatesincludedTomasBaptiste, Carmen Munroe,CharlesHyatt and Barbara Assoon, along with Ronald Lace yand Eileen Atkins . Aregular role in thefootball series United!followed in whichRudolph playedfootballer Larr yPresday. Howe ver,his time on theshow was short-liveddue to ajob ofer he couldn’t turn down.
“I had this ofer to go and play Othello at MalvernFestival Teatre. And Ithought :‘ Well, great, you know, ayoung actorgetting theopportunity to play that .’ Iput it to theexecutive producer,AnthonyCornish,hesaid: ‘Yes ,fne, but theproblem is that if you leave, we might not bring you back into theseries.’So, Ihad that
choicetomake, and to me itwas ano brainer,Iwasn’tafter themone y, Iwas afterexperience.”
AlthoughPaulRobeson, Errol John and, much earlier,Ira Aldridge had previously played Othello, thepartwas often performedbyawhiteactor in blackface.
“O ne wa sd ep ri ve do ver th ey ea rs as ab la ck ac to r. It ’s ver yp ain fu ltos it in an au ditor ium and se es om eo ne el se , so me time sb as ta rd is ei t, you kn ow, whatab la ck pe rs on fe el sa nd pe rfor m an db eh av e. It so me time sb ec ame a ca ri catu re of ab la ck pe rs on. And th e ac to rs werem orecon ce rn ed wi th ap pe arance, rath er th an th es ou lo fthe ch arac te r.
“Itdeprivedalot of brilliantactors at thetime theopportunity.But that problem didn’t even stop there, becausewhen Iwas ofered thepartbyDavid Tackeratthe Young Vic, thepress or certainsections of thepress still said that it should be played by awhiteactor,not ablack actor.
“But one of thesatisfying thingsisthat we were full of students. Ithink itwas being done forO-le vels ,and they just lovedit, thereaction wasphenomenal.So, it wasjustifed.”
Back on tele vision, Rudolphplayedan American civilwar era soldierinTeWar Games, PatrickTroughton’s fnal regular Doctor Who stor y.
“Likealot of actors in thosedays, therew asn’tag re at impact as it had in
Be ca us eo fL ove ThyN ei gh bo ur,c hi ld re n
of an Af ro -C ar ib
be an bac kg ro un ds ud de nl yh ad ah er o.
theyears follow ing that .Imustadmit that anumb erofyears ago, before Ijoined Ea stEnders and even thee arly part of Ea stEnders ,Iv isualise dmyselfa sb eing aD octorWho. Ithought ,ifthe yhad de cide dtoget ridofmever ye arly on, one ofthe thing sthatIwould have pushed for is to be aD octorWho.”
Havi ng ma de hi sf ilm debut in Th e Wi tche s, aHamme rHor ro rs ta rr ing Jo an Fo nt ai ne (“Ab eaut if ul woman th at Irememb er o ften”), Ru dolph pl ay ed area l- li fe ch arac te r, Be re sfordB ro wn (“ Th eg uy who di scov ered th eb od ie s ”) , i n1 0R illi n gton Pl ace, wh ichs ta rred Ri ch ardAtten bo ro ug ha ss er ia lk iller Jo hn Ch ri stie .Film ed on lo cation at th es oo n- to -b e- dem oli sh ed Ru ston Cl os e– whichR illing to nPla ce had be en re name dto– Iw on dered if Ru dolph felt it al ittl eu nner vi ng to be th ere.
“Not really,no. Ithink one wasmorein aweofthe people likeAttenboroughthat you’reworking with,soyourfocus was on that under thener vousness as ayoung actor, rather than theenvironment.”
Also in thecast, as theunfortunate Timothy Evans ,was John Hurt ,who played in thesame celebrity cricketteam as Rudolph.
“Frazer Hineswas also part of that team, theVic Le wisCelebrity XI.We ropedinalot of high-profle Test cricketers ,countycricketers .Telate EvertonWeekeswas aver ygoodfriend of VicLewis ,soheturneduponthe odd occasion. Garr ySobers ,you know,you name it ,cricketers of thosedays, and I played alongside anumberofthem.”
Prior to hisrole in EastEnders ,Rudolph wasperhaps best knownasBill Re ynolds in theTamesTelevision sitcomLove Ty Neighbour.
“Tere’saprocess ,you know,when you’resenta piece of thescriptthrough your agent, and they ’recasting forthis. All they said wasthatitwas ablack couple living next door to awhitecouple, there wasn’t anysortofdetail.All you had was just alittlescene. And you go and you read with all theblack actors ,dancers , musicians ,poets ,e veryone going forthis one part and it wasdowntojustahandful of us ,and then it whittled downto, I think ,two or threeofus. Ten you had ascreentest, and then they had apilot , but at that stage it wasajob that we were going to do and, if it’s OK ,the y’ll do six or se venepisodesand that’s as farasyour thought processwill go. Hope that you getthe part ,then thenextprocess is when you sit and talk to thewriters ,whatthe y were planning .And theonly thing Isaid to them was: ‘Aslongasthischaracteris not an UncleTom,hegives as good as he gets .’ Tatwas theconversation Ihad with thewriter-stroke-director. And they went along with that .Tey might have had it in their thoughts. But Isaid: ‘Atno time at all must he bowdown. Youknow, you hit me, I’mgoing to hit you back .You call me a name; I’ll do thesame.’
“Wecertainly didn’t expectittohave that impact .Teminuteitwentout ,itjust was‘phe w’.Itjustshot up to No 1and it remainedone or two forthe four or fve years that it ran. It wasphenomenal.
“Backinthe 70s,I visitedafew schools inBrixton andBirmingham, and becauseof Love Ty Neighbour,children of an AfroCaribbeanbackground suddenly had what one would call ahero, becausethe years prior to that,all they sawwereblack actors holdingspears and whatnot.Suddenly,they saw someone who stoodupfor himselfora couple who stood up forthemselves. Tey wereverypositiveabout that,but whatI
RudolphasOthello –arolehefrstplayedatthe MalvernFestivalTheatre in 1966 –with Kate Fahy as Desdemona, in theYoung Vic’s1984productionofthe Shakespeareantragedy