Wilfred Pickles
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Wilfred Pickles, OBE (13 October 1904 – 27 March 1978) was an English actor and radio presenter.


Early life and personal life

Pickles was born in Halifax in the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
. He moved to
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, with his family in 1929, and worked with his father as a builder. He joined an amateur dramatic society, and in a local production there met Mabel Cecilia Myerscough (1906–1989), all of whose family had been connected with the stage. He remained a proud
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
man, and having been selected by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as an announcer for its North Regional radio service, he went on to be an occasional newsreader on the
BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He was the first newsreader to speak in an accent other than
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent traditionally regarded as the Standard language, standard and most Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been ...
, "a deliberate attempt to make it more difficult for
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
to impersonate BBC broadcasters", and caused some comment by wishing his fellow northerners "Good neet".


Early career

His first professional appearance was as an extra in
Henry Baynton Henry Baynton (23 September 1892 in Moseley in Warwickshire, England – 2 January 1951 in London) was a British Shakespearean actor and actor-manager of the early 20th century who in a stage career lasting 40 years is credited with playing ...
's production of ''
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
'' at the Theatre Royal in Halifax in the 1920s. Pickles soon became a radio celebrity, and pursued an acting career in London's
West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...
, on television and on film.


''Have A Go'' and ''Ask Pickles''

His most significant work was as host of the
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
show '' Have A Go'', which ran from 1946 to 1967 and launched such catchphrases as "How do, how are yer?", "Are yer courting?", "What's on the table, Mabel?" and "Give him the money, Barney". He appeared in the show with his wife Mabel, whom he had married at Sacred Heart
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Church,
Ainsdale Ainsdale is an area of Southport in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the Historic counties of England, Historic County of Lancashire, at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census it had a ...
,
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...
on 20 September 1930. The series attracted a weekly audience of over 20 million and a mailbag of around 5,000 letters. Contestants could earn £1/19s/11d by sharing "their intimate secrets". In May 1954, he took the show to television with the programme ''Ask Pickles'' which ran until 1956. The show was publicized enthusiastically by the BBC: In 1948, a children's
board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...
entitled ''Ask Pickles'' was published by
jigsaw puzzle A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaiced pieces, each of which typically has a portion of a picture. When assembled, the puzzle pieces produce a complete picture. In th ...
manufacturer
Tower Press Tower Press was a British jigsaw puzzle and games manufacturer, most active from the 1930s until 1969 when they were bought by Waddingtons. By the early 1960s, they were the largest jigsaw puzzle maker in the world. History The company had its or ...
.


Other television and radio

He was the guest castaway on BBC Radio's ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...
'' on 2 January 1953; his chosen book was ''
The Oxford Book of English Verse ''The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900'' is an anthology of English poetry, edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch, that had a very substantial influence on popular taste and perception of poetry for at least a generation. It was published by ...
'' edited by
Arthur Quiller-Couch Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (; 21 November 186312 May 1944) was a British writer who published using the pseudonym Q. Although a prolific novelist, he is remembered mainly for the monumental publication '' The Oxford Book of English Verse 1 ...
, and his luxury a yellow waistcoat. On television, among many performances, he appeared in ''
Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictiona ...
'' and ''
For the Love of Ada ''For the Love of Ada'' is an ITV sitcom that ran between 1970 and 1971. Although not seen on British TV for over 30 years, the complete series began airing again in late 2018 on Talking Pictures TV, albeit edited with certain offensive words ...
'', co-starring with
Irene Handl Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British author and character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austria-born father ...
. He was in the play ''Come Laughing Home'' by
Keith Waterhouse Keith Spencer Waterhouse (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. Biography Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. H ...
and
Willis Hall Willis Edward Hall (6 April 1929 – 7 March 2005) was an English playwright and radio, television and film writer who drew on his working-class roots in Leeds for much of his writing. Willis formed an extremely prolific partnership with h ...
on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
in 1970. In 1971, he was the subject of '' This Is Your Life''.


Publications

In 1955, Wilfred Pickles published an anthology of poetry and prose of the "north counties" of England. The book, ''My North Countrie'', featured verses from a range of poets and writers including two
Lancashire dialect The Lancashire dialect or (colloquially, Lanky) refers to the Northern English vernacular speech of the English county of Lancashire. The region is notable for its tradition of poetry written in the dialect. Scope of Lancashire dialect La ...
verses, "A Bird Song Away" and "Th' Art Lookin' Sackless", from the award-winning weaver-poet
Nicholas Freeston Nicholas Freeston (28 August 1907 – 6 February 1978) was an English poet who spent most of his working life as a weaver in cotton mills near his home in Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire. He published five books of poetry, occasionally writing in L ...
.


Later life

In 1950, Pickles was awarded the OBE for services to broadcasting. In 1955, he opened the Wilfred Pickles' School for Spastics at Tixover Grange,
Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...
.Opening of Wilfred Pickles' School for Spastics
British Pathe newsreel 1955 Also in 1955, he and wife Mabel celebrated their silver wedding anniversary by returning to the Sacred Heart Church in Southport, when they gave money for a statue of Saint
Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, OCD (15 July 1747 – 7 March 1770) was an Italian Discalced Carmelite nun. During her brief life of quiet service in the monastery, she came to be revered for her mystical gifts. She has been declared a saint ...
, which still stands in the church. They recorded an edition of ''Have a Go'' from the church hall (now demolished), and later performed a version of the show in the adjacent school for the children. He appeared, to great credit and dramatic effect, in the film '' Billy Liar'', where he played the titular protagonist's father. Pickles died in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
on 27 March 1978, aged 73, and is buried with his wife Mabel in
Southern Cemetery, Manchester Southern Cemetery is a large municipal cemetery in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England, south of the city centre. It opened in 1879 and is owned and administered by Manchester City Council. It is the largest municipal cemetery in the United ...
.


Legacy

Wilfred Pickles was the uncle of judge
James Pickles James Pickles (18 March 1925 – 18 December 2010) was an English barrister and circuit judge and who later became a tabloid newspaper columnist. He became known for his controversial sentencing decisions and press statements. He suffered a se ...
and actor
Christina Pickles Christina Pickles (born 17 February 1935) is a British-American actress. She is known for her role as Nurse Helen Rosenthal in the NBC medical drama '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988), for which she received five nominations for the Primetime Em ...
, and great-uncle of actress
Carolyn Pickles Carolyn Pickles (born 8 February 1952) is an English actress who has appeared in West End theatre and on British television. She is known for playing DCI Kim Reid in ''The Bill'' and Shelley Williams in ''Emmerdale''. Life and career Pickles ...
. The now-defunct "Portman & Pickles"
public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
in Market Street, Halifax, was named after him and film actor
Eric Portman Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in several films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s. Early life Born in Halifax, ...
.


Selected filmography

* ''
Serious Charge ''Serious Charge'' (also known in US release as ''A Touch of Hell'') is a 1959 British film, directed by Terence Young, produced and co-written by Mickey Delamar (with Guy Elmes). It was adapted from a stage play written by Philip King. The fi ...
'' (1959) * '' Billy Liar'' (1963) * ''
The Family Way ''The Family Way'' is a 1966 British comedy-drama film about the marital difficulties of a young newlywed couple living in a crowded house with the husband's family. Based on Bill Naughton's play '' All in Good Time'' (1963), the film began lif ...
'' (1966) * ''
For the Love of Ada ''For the Love of Ada'' is an ITV sitcom that ran between 1970 and 1971. Although not seen on British TV for over 30 years, the complete series began airing again in late 2018 on Talking Pictures TV, albeit edited with certain offensive words ...
'' (1972)


Notes


External links

*
Newsreel of Wilfred Pickles at home in 1947

Silent footage of Pickles at a book signing, Colne 1950
produced by Sam Hanna,
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
(
Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...
–
North West Film Archive The North West Film Archive (NWFA, established 1977) in Manchester, is a moving image collection for the North West of England. The archive cares for 35,000 items ranging in date from the pioneer days of film in the mid-1890s to video producti ...
) * Wilfred Pickles and Thomas Thompson {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickles, Wilfred 1904 births 1978 deaths English radio personalities English male stage actors Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Halifax, West Yorkshire English male film actors 20th-century English male actors Children's Hour presenters Burials at Southern Cemetery, Manchester