WEB PAGE NO 802

FIRST PICTURE: PETER HAIGH











SECOND PICTURE:

Shani Wallis s she appeared in Oliver








Firstly, with the able assistance of Steve and Philip I have been able to name all the boys in the picture entitled in the Woodwork Shop on the side bar.



Some names from the past you may well have forgotten!


Peter Haigh 1925 - 2001
Peter Haigh died aged 75 in 2001. He was a familiar and popular face on BBC television in the years after the War.He made his debut as an announcer in March 1952 when he stood in for McDonald Hobley. Before this he had been trying without luck for three years to get a post at the BBC, but his two-week trial at Alexandra Palace was an immediate success and he was asked to join the team of continuity announcers headed by McDonald Hobley, Sylvia Peters and Mary Malcolm. He was over six-foot tall and had a carefully trimmed moustache and beautifully modulated voice, he looked every inch the Guards officer that he had been before entering broadcasting. Newspapers columnists regularly referred to him as "Television's most eligible bachelor", a tag he forfeited when in 1957 he married Jill Adams, a Rank starlet.The previous year he had defected to ITV then the job as BBC’s chief staff announcer was offered him, but he had already started to make a good living as a freelance presenter and knew that if he accepted the BBC's offer he would not be able to continue with this additional work. He turned down the job and concentrated on activities such as compering Come Dancing, presenting television quizzes and introducing celebrity dinners at Guildhall in London. In 1956 he was voted best commentator of the year. He became perhaps most associated with Picture Parade, a weekly review of the film world which he co-presented with Derek Bond and which ran for many years.
With the coming of television he fitted perfectly into that persona of dinner jackets and clear enunciation. During the 1950s he earned and spent a great deal of money, but when the look of television began to change his career declined. His marriage broke up and he began drinking more than was good for him. In the mid-1960s he retired to Portugal, where he ran a harbour-side restaurant and bar. There he met his German-born second wife. In the 1980s they returned to Britain, where he hoped that he could resume his broadcasting career. But this did not happen. He made his final television appearance as the guest of Des Lynam on a short-lived series called It's My Pleasure, intended as a television equivalent of Desert Island Discs. Afterwards he worked occasionally for BBC Radio and did voice-overs for advertisements. He died in March 2001and was survived by his second wife, Inge, and by a daughter of his first marriage.
Elton Hayes. 1915 - 2001
Both his parents were actors and he made his first stage appearance aged nine. He wanted to be an actor, but he also learned the violin and the ukelele. In his teens, he won a scholarship to the Fay Compton School of Dramatic Arts. His first job was as assistant stage manager with the Old Stagers' Company at the Canterbury Theatre and he sang in his spare time at local social clubs.
He took up the guitar and the guitar would cause his later fame, accompanying himself while he sang old English folk songs and ballads he made an enviable reputation. Despite contracting rheumatic fever, which caused his fingers to stiffen, he continued playing. He joined the services during the war and a few days after returning to Britain from war service in India, he visited the BBC, still in uniform, to watch a broadcast of Children's Hour. He was recognised and was immediately taken on to write and perform a slot in the programme based on Edward Lear's Nonsense Rhymes. Soon after he was given a regular slot on "In Town Tonight". From then on he performed on radio and television frequently in Britain. On an eight week tour of North America, he made 113 appearances which he found very exhausting. But for most of us he was, and will always be, the singing minstral Alan-a-Dale in ‘The Tales of Robin Hood’. He was highly nervous before live performances and so retired from show business in the 1960s and, after studying at a agricultural college, became a farmer in Essex, breeding pedigree livestock. He took up carriage driving and became a member of the British Driving Society. After suffering a stroke in 1995, he had to give up his farm and moved to live with friends, who cared for him until his death. In 1942 he married Betty Inman, who died in 1982.
Shani Wallis
Shani Wallis was born in 1933 in Tottenham and made her name as an actress and singer, releasing several popular records in the 1950s. She made her first stage appearance at the age of four, and later studied at the RADA on a scholarship. Throughout he career she played many leading lady roles in the West End, but she is best known for the role of Nancy in the 1968 film production of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver! She is now a naturalized citizen of the United States, where she has lived for many years. She has appeared with Liberace, Jack Benny, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and has been married to agent Bernie Rich since 1965; they have one child, Rebecca, and two granddaughters. She is also the sister of jazz drummer Leon Roy and is the Life President of The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.

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Pj.keat@ntlworld.com

You Write:
Mary Writes: I do so agree with the article. I feel sorry for children today, as we had such freedom. I spent hours on Farlington Marshes and developed a real love of wildlife, which has never left me. I loved to climb trees, chalkpits, and slide on the ice, all very "elf&safety" today. I used to climb trees while my brother stood at the base of the tree holding my coat. Later my brother joined the RM reserves and got his para wings! I actually do not like heights these days! Also we used to walk everywhere. I still remember how we used to walk from Cosham Odion on a Saturday, save the bus fare and buy a cake in the bakers in Drayton.

News and Views:
The U.S. Postal Service announced its commemorative stamps for 2010. Gene Autry and Roy Rogers will be honoured as part of an American Cowboy series.

On this day 17th January 1960-1965

On 17/01/1960 the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was not listed and the box office smash was North by Northwest. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was the price of large eggs cut to 3/- a dozen.

On 17/01/1961 the number one single was Poetry in Motion - Johnny Tillotson and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/01/1962 the number one single was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Van Doren guilty in US quiz show fix.

On 17/01/1963 the number one single was The Next Time/Bachelor Boy - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/01/1964 the number one single was Glad All Over - Dave Clark Five and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Steptoe & Son (BBC) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/01/1965 the number one single was Yeh Yeh - Georgie Fame and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.