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Throughout the twenty productions put on by the Players a significant number of village people became involved at one time or another. If you look at the cast lists in the show programmes featured in the Slide Shows for each production you will see credits for all those who were involved. However, there were those who made long term commitments for which they deserve special mention. Quite often this involved not just husband and wife but their children too. Please note the dates given indicate the years in which they were involved in the Players productions. They are, in no particular order . . .
 Walter and Nora Price and son Colin 1945 to 1948. You can read about their major contribution in setting up The Players on the Introduction web page. 
Mr E. J Westbrook and Norman Carr 1945 to 1953 Mr Westbrook was the person responsible, with others, for stage lighting and the building of scenery structures, later painted with such flair and creativity by Norman Carr. A retired engineer he lived at Hillcrest, Althorne with his wife and two daughters Nora and Hilda. Norman Carr was a very talented artist who lived down by Althorne Creek, on the River Crouch. Aside from his activities associated with the Players he was Verger at St Andrew’s Church, Althorne and took Sunday School for the young children of the village held in St Andrew’s Hall. 
Mr Amor 1945 to 1953 and Robert Powl 1945 to 1948 These two gentlemen worked together as Stage Manager and Assistant on a number of the productions. Mr Amor along with Mr Westbrook and Norman Carr remained with the Players throughout their twenty productions providing valuable behind-the-scenes support for those appearing on stage. Robert Powl along with his sons George, also a prominent Player, and Leslie, ran a local building and decorating company in Althorne. He was responsible for providing the large areas of strong material on which Norman Carr painted the scenery. 
Mary Browning 1945 to 1953 and Vero Lambert 1945 to 1951 In different ways these two ladies, over many productions, made very important contributions to the success of the Players. Mary Browning was the daughter of the Rev. H. G. Browning, Vicar of St Andrew’s Church, Althorne. She was often responsible, either alone or working with Hermon Suckling, in writing the book script for pantomime productions. Her name also crops up regularly in the cast lists for the shows. Following the departure of Walter and Nora Price there were a number of shows in which she acted as Assistant Producer to Vero Lambert. Later still she took over the Producer’s role when Vero Lambert left the Players.
Vero Lambert managed to fill the roles of Producer, actress and pianist, over many of the Players productions. Vero owned a very large Great Dane dog called Carlos which she occasionally allowed to sit on stage with the cast, when they were going through dress rehearsals.  Tony and Gladys Ford 1945 to 1953
Tony Ford snr. along with John Robinson snr. were the mainstay of slapstick and humour in many of the Players productions, especially when appearing as dames in Pantomime roles. It was hard to believe Tony Ford, the rather stern looking figure who owned and ran the local garage, could be the same person who, when dressed in women’s clothing became such an animated and very funny character on stage. He and John worked so well together exploiting the potential of their roles they kept the audience, if not in stitches with their antics, at least thoroughly amused. Althorne was very fortunate that these busy business men managed to find time to participate so actively in village life. Tony was Chairman of the Players committee for several years and did much to try and prolong their run, including taking on the role of Producer for the last production.
Gladys is remembered fondly by Janet Matthams and Winnie Lowe as someone who always made a point of looking after the younger members of the Players, doing all she could to encourage them in what they were doing. Gladys also helped husband Tony with the running of their business. During the war years Gladys would often be the driver of their taxi taking people to, or collecting them from, Althorne station. Daughter Anthea and son Tony jnr. were each involved in two of the shows. 
John and Jean Robinson 1945 to 1951 John Robinson, who owned and ran the local dairy in Althorne, formed a wonderfully successful partnership with Tony Ford in the Players productions. They could always be relied upon to liven up proceedings with their on stage antics in the pantomime productions. They were also quite capable of taking on more serious roles when that was necessary. Jean Robinson helped out behind the scenes and daughter Anne and son John jnr. made occasional appearances in the shows. |
John and Lilian Drinkwater 1946 to 1953 John and Lilian became important regular members of The Althorne Players after first appearing in the pantomime Dick Whittington in 1946/47. John worked for Tony Ford at the local garage and he and Lilian, like several younger members of the Players, were also members of the Althorne Badminton Club. They played regularly in St Andrew’s Hall during the winter, apart from the nights when Althorne Players activities had to take priority. John also played an active part within the Players Committee holding the post of Secretary for at least the last few years of the Players run.
Leslie Matthams 1945 to 1953 and Sybil Keeble 1945 to 1948 Leslie started with the Players by providing the violin accompaniment, waiting until May 1948 before taking on an acting role in the production No! No! Nanette. Apparently Mark Lubbock, who worked for BBC Radio, and lived in Althorne, felt Leslie had the potential to become a professional violin player. Leslie however decided to stay with things as they were. He worked as a Motor Mechanic for the Central Garage in Latchingdon. When The Althorne Players finally folded, Leslie, who by now had the acting bug, went on to join a Latchingdon Group of Players known as the LADS. This group still remains active in the area. Sybil Keeble featured regularly in the shows as a dancer or member of the chorus and in supporting roles.
Hermon and Nellie Suckling and son John 1945 to 1948 Hermon, his wife Nellie, and their son John, were members of the Players right from the start, appearing in the pantomime Mother Goose in January 1947. Hermon was Station Master at Althorne Station and in his spare time kept a productive vegetable garden and a hive of bees. He made a significant contribution to the success of the Players pantomime productions by producing rhyming scripts in collaboration with Mary Browning. All three of the family made their last appearance with the Players in No! No! Nanette in May 1948. This was also the last show for Walter and Nora Price, leaving a significant loss of talent which must have made the task of keeping the group alive rather daunting. However, much to the credit of those remaining, the shows did continue for another five years. 
George Powl 1946 to 1953 and Rev H G Browning 1945 to 1951 George was always a very active member of anything he became involved in and would have contributed significantly to the Players. Initially he worked in the family Building and Decorating business, but like so many others in the Players still found time to participate in village cricket and badminton. Sadly, later, when running his own mushroom growing business he was killed when the light plane he flew crashed on a business trip. I remember him best as a lively fun loving man who was an athletic wicket keeper for the village eleven and did a lot to keep the whole team on its toes. The Rev Browning, Vicar of the local St Andrew’s Church, became a member of the Players from the outset appearing first as The Mayor in the 1945 pantomime production of Mother Goose. His last appearance was in Jingle Bells in the winter of 1950/51. Although a senior member of the Players he showed remarkable stamina in some of his longer roles. As an article in the Radio Times of February 1947, regarding the pantomime Dick Whittington states, ‘Prize for endurance goes to the Vicar, who at seventy-one plays the lengthy part of the Captain, including a song of three verses and two choruses!’ 
Janet Matthams and Winnie Lowe 1946 to 1953 These two younger, surviving, members of the Players, who had known one another since early school days attending Mayland School, first appeared on stage together in the pantomime Dick Whittington. Janet was encouraged to do so by her father Leslie who, at that time, was providing musical accompaniment for the various shows on the violin. She remained with the Players, like Winnie, until 1953 when the productions ceased. They were only 14 and 15 when first given the chance to appear in minor roles with the Players, however, it was not long before they were encouraged to take on more demanding roles as other Players departed. They both found work in Maldon, Winnie working for Bates Motors as a secretary, and Janet as a Comptometer operator for Sadds. Text copyright Bryan Dunn 27 January 2009 |
