Arthur Reginald Whatmore - actor, dramatist and theatre director
Perhaps the most famous Whatmore of the twentieth century was Arthur Reginald Whatmore whose ancestry has been described in an earlier post (Abraham Whatmore of Kidderminster).
Arthur Reginald was born on 30 May 1889 at Much Marcle in Herefordshire. In 1891 he was at home with his parents at the School House, Much Marcle and he was with them in 1901 at Hinckley.
Much Marcel Church Copyright : Phillip Halling. Reproduced in accordance with the terms of the site licence which be viewed at this link : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Arthur Reginald was later to become a well known actor, playwright and producer of plays. He always seems to have been referred to as A R Whatmore rather than by his full name.
Arthur was educated at Wyggeston School, Leicester and after school worked for three years as a bank clerk. His first appearance on stage was as Lord Monkhurst in ‘Milestones’ at the Kennington Theatre, London in 1913.
Arthur served in France from 1915–1919 and after being demobbed produced for Amateur Operatic Societies. Arthur married Hilda Mary Loverock. in the June Quarter of 1918 at St Martins Registration District.
In 1923 A R Whatmore founded the Hull Repertory Theatre and produced 81 plays there between 1923 and 1930. From 1930 – 1932 he was director of the Embassy Theatre and in 1942 he was director of the Dundee Repertory Theatre.
Arthur and Hilda had one child, a son, born in 1929. Hilda died aged 49 in the March Quarter 1945 in the Rugby Registration District. Arthur remarried to Barbara Mary Fowle in the September Quarter of 1951 in the Salisbury Registration District.
Ispwich Repertory Theatre, now ‘The Old Rep’ Public House Copyright : The Old Rep Pub and reproduced here by their kind permission.
From 1951 - 1953 Arthur was the director of Ipswich Repertory Theatre. Arthur produced plays at several other theatres and also acted in a large number of plays.
Theatre Programme
I have been unable to trace the copyright holder for this programme and trust that they will forgive me for including it here. If the copyright holder can contact me I will attribute it correctly, or remove the image in accordance with their wishes.
In the 1950s, Arthur agreed to the use of his name in the formation of the ‘Whatmore Players’. This company, with Dennis Ramsden as producer, ran successfully until the late 1960s – one of the ‘players’ being Mollie Sugden (‘Are You Being Served’). Arthur also appeared in four films - ‘Eliza Comes to Stay’ (1936); ‘Charley’s Aunt’ (1938); ‘The White Chateau’ 1938 and ‘Rake’s Progress’ (1939). In addition he wrote a number of plays including ‘Count Your Blessings’ (1950).
On 11 November 1938, Arthur took part in a television production of ‘The White Chateau’ transmitted from Alexandra Palace – one of the very early broadcasts. Although the actors performed on a set in the televison studio, for extra effect two 6 inch howitzers were fired in the Palace Grounds during the broadcast, frightening nearby residents who thought that an air raid was taking place.
A R Whatmore died, aged 71 on 15 October 1960 at Bletchley.
In 1981, Barbara Mary Whatmore founded the Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust which provides funds for art projects and for historic churches. In 1982 she remarried to Brigadier Richard Gardiner CB CBE. Barbara died in April 2001 in the Bury St Edmunds Registration District.
The majority of the information about A R Whatmore is derived from ‘Who was Who in the Theatre 1912-1976’ by the Gale Research Company, published by Pitman London 1978.