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Alvin Rakoff has directed more than 100 television, film and stage productions. He is now in his 10th decade. And still active.

The twice Emmy Award-winning director has worked with many of the world's most prestigious leading talent, including Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Peter Sellers, Judi Dench, Donald Pleasance, Henry Fonda and Richard Harris.

Alvin Rakoff also gave an unknown extra his first leading role: Sean Connery. He gave drama student Alan Rickman his first professional job. Other young talent nurtured includes Michael Crawford, Simon Russell Beale and Michael Caine.

As well as a producer of much of his screen and stage work, Alvin is also a prolific writer of original screenplays, adaptations, theatre musicals, plays, and three novels. His first novel, & Gillian (Little Brown) was translated into ten languages

Alvin Rakoff was born in Canada. His early days as journalist helped him work his way to a degree at University of Toronto. In 1952 he was seconded by CBC to visit BBC in London. He has lived here ever since.

The late actress Jacqueline Hill was his first wife, with whom he had two children: Dr Sasha Rakoff, Charity Executive and John D Rakoff, film producer. He is now married to Sally Hughes - MD, The Mill at Sonning Theatre.

Alvin is working on the first volume of his memoirs, to be published in 2021.

Kevin Stoney served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, where he trained as a pilot and was sent to the Middle East. However, he crashed so many planes that he had to be reclassified as a navigator. As an actor he did his best work for the small screen, often appearing as doctors, police officers or haughty butlers. He was equally effective as outright villains. He was considered for several decades to be one of British television's most reliable supporting actors, although he is now mostly remembered by cult television fans for his roles in series like The Avengers (1961), Doctor Who (1963), The Prisoner (1967), The Tomorrow People (1973) and Blake's 7 (1978).

Gentle-mannered British character actress, the daughter of an engineer and a district nurse. Trained as a dancer at the Arts Educational School in London. Gave up a dancing career after injuring her knee and began acting in local repertory theatre. Acted on screen from 1949, and provided voices for most of the female characters in "The Goon Show" on radio (1951-60). On television, best known as housekeeper Amy Winthrop in "The Adventures of Black Beauty" (1972). From the mid-60's, also active as a playwright and screenwriter.

Carmel McSharry was born on 18 August 1926 in Dublin, Ireland. She was an actress, known for In Sickness and in Health (1985), Bindle (One of Them Days) (1966) and Oliver Twist (1962). She was married to Derek Briggs. She died on 4 March 2018 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

George Tovey was born on 8 March 1914 in Kensington, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Frenzy (1972), Doctor Who (1963) and My Old Man (1974). He was married to Margaret (Peggy) Tovey. He died on 4 December 1982 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Born in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales in 1876, Ethel Lina White was one of the best known crime writers in Britain and the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. Her novel "The Wheel Spins" (1936), was the basis for the Alfred Hitchcock 1938 film The Lady Vanishes (1938). She died of ovarian cancer in London, England in 1944. In 2021, a blue plaque was to be erected on a building on Frogmore Street in Abergavenny, marking her birthplace.

John Crocker was born on 19 September 1925 in Streatham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Deep Concern (1979), The Avengers (1961) and Affairs of the Heart (1974). He died on 18 February 2015 in Chiswick, Hounslow, London, England, UK.

Ian Fairbairn was born on 17 September 1931 in West Derby, Liverpool, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Big Spender (1965), Doctor Who (1963) and Garry Halliday (1959). He died on 2 December 2014 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

MacTaggart was born in Scotland. He produced, directed or wrote well over 100 individual television plays or episodes. He started out as an actor and radio producer for BBC Scotland. In 1968, he became a co-founder of Kestrel Productions, Britain's first independent television drama production company. Just two months before his sudden death at the age of 46, he was awarded the Society of Film and Television Arts' Desmond Davis Award for outstanding contribution to television.

Leo Maguire was born on 5 November 1938 in Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Compact (1962), Kidnapped (1956) and Kadoyng (1973). He was married to Maxine Audley and Monica Evans. He died on 28 December 1992 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Douglas Robert Steuart Bader was born in London on February 21, 1910. A good student, Bader won a scholarship to St Edward's School in Oxford. Following a visit to the RAF College at Cranwell, Bader set his sights on becoming a pilot and won a place as a cadet at Cranwell. During his time at Cranwell, Bader developed a reputation as a pilot of above average skill, albeit headstrong and inclined to challenge authority. An outstanding sportsman from school days, Bader excelled at rugby, cricket and also boxing and might have played rugby at national level, had it not been for his accident in 1931.

Bader was commissioned as an Officer in the Royal Air Force in 1930 and was posted to 23 Squadron at RAF Kenley. Bader's ability as a pilot was such that he was selected to fly in the Squadron's aerobatic display team at the prestigious RAF Hendon display in 1931 but he was also notorious for low level aerobatics. In December 1931, Bader crashed during an unauthorized low level aerobatic routine at Woodley while visiting the Reading Aero Club. Though Bader survived the crash, he came close to death in the days afterward and his injuries were so severe that both of his legs were amputated. He was fitted with artificial "tin" legs and soon learned to walk without the use of a stick and was not only soon driving his car but also flying - on an unofficial basis. Though Bader was passed by the Central Flying School as perfectly able to fly, the lack of any provision in King's Regulations to deal with his case meant that he could not be passed as fit to fly and Bader was offered a ground commission. Unwilling to remain in the RAF as a ground-based officer, Bader resigned and found work with the Asiatic Petroleum Company.

Never reconciled to civilian life, despite marriage and becoming a first class golfer, at the outbreak of the Second World War Bader applied to rejoin the RAF. With pilots in short supply the Regulations were overlooked and by June 1940 Bader had been posted to command 242 Squadron, a unit that had suffered high casualties during the Battle of France. Determined to raise morale, Bader's methods were typically uncompromising and he was responsible for transforming 242 back into an effective fighting unit.

During the Battle of Britain, Bader's aggressive and outspoken character and strong ideas on tactics brought him into conflict with his superior officers. Following the Battle, what became known as the Big Wing strategy favored by Bader became the chosen strategy of Fighter Command as it was better suited to the offensive posture of 1941, however undoubtedly Hugh Dowding had been right to reject the strategy in the desperate days of 1940.

The character of Fighter Command's operations during the summer of 1941 suited Bader's aggressive character perfectly. Promoted to Wing Commander, Bader was stationed at RAF Tangmere from where he lead the Tangmere Wing in sweeps over North West Europe aimed to bring the Luftwaffe into combat. By the summer of 1941, Bader had claimed 22 victories making him the fifth highest scoring pilot in the RAF. However, on 9th August 1941 Bader failed to return from an operation when his aircraft was downed near Le Touquet, France. The circumstances of Bader's loss are uncertain - Bader said that he thought that a German aircraft had collided with him, while General Adolf Galland said that Bader had been shot down by one of his pilots. Modern research suggests that Bader may have been a victim of 'friendly fire', accidentally misidentified and shot down by one of his fellow RAF pilots. Whatever the cause, Bader bailed out from his damaged machine and parachuted to the ground but both his artificial legs were badly damaged.

Bader was captured by German forces and was taken to a hospital near St Omer where his damaged artificial legs were patched up. General Adolf Galland offered safe passage to a British aircraft to deliver replacement legs by parachute drop. Unaware of the indomitable character of their prisoner, the German hospital staff allowed Bader to retain his clothing and with the help of sympathetic locals broke out from the hospital. He was taken to a hiding place at the home of a local farmer but was betrayed and was re-arrested. Taking no further chances, the Germans put Bader under close guard and he was sent to prisoner of war camp in Germany, eventually ending up in the infamous Colditz camp as a result of his constant and unremitting hostility to his captors. Bader remained in captivity despite numerous escape attempts until Colditz was liberated in 1945.

Bader was promoted to Group Captain following his return to the UK but left the Royal Air Force in 1946. He returned to his former employer where he eventually became managing director of a subsidiary, Shell Aircraft, serving until 1969 when he left to become a member of the Civil Aviation Authority Board.

Paul Brickhill's biography of Bader, "Reach for the Sky", was published in 1954 and was later made into a movie. Bader's autobiography, "Fight for the Sky", appeared in 1973. He was knighted in 1976 for his work on behalf of the disabled. Douglas Bader died in 1982, but his heroic memory remains an inspiration to many throughout the world. The Douglas Bader Foundation, set up after his death to continue his work, continues to assist those who have lost limbs.

Jack Vyvyan was born on 31 March 1889 in Fulham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Shop at Sly Corner (1946), This Man Is News (1938) and The Interrupted Journey (1949). He died on 28 December 1955 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

John Thornton was born on 28 May 1944 in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Morte d'Arthur (1984). He died on 17 February 1993 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Clive Graham was born on 7 October 1937 in Swansea, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Johnny English (2003), Ivanhoe (1970) and Middlemarch (1968). He died on 11 June 2007 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Peter Retey was born in 1925 in Headington, Oxfordshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Black Arrow (1951), The Buccaneers (1956) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955). He died on 18 March 2015 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Rosemary Davis was born on 8 August 1926 in Hull, Humberside, England, UK. She was an actress, known for ITV Television Playhouse (1955), Tons of Money (1954) and BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950). She died on 26 May 2014 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Jose Berlinka was born on 19 February 1926 in Poland. He was an actor, known for Secret Agent (1964), Man in a Suitcase (1967) and Crane (1963). He died on 8 September 2005 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

David Ayliff was born on 8 April 1916 in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Theatre Night (1957) and ITV Play of the Week (1955). He died on 1 April 2016 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Stanley Lloyd was born on 18 October 1927 in Southport, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Caleb Williams (1980), Little Dorrit (1987) and The Fool (1990). He died on 4 June 2009 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Briony Hodge was born on 25 July 1941 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. She was an actress, known for Z Cars (1962), BBC2 Play of the Week (1977) and Boy Meets Girl (1967). She died on 16 June 2012 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Peter Krook was born in February 1949 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was an editor, known for Barry Lyndon (1975), Caligula (1979) and Return to Oz (1985). He was married to Elizabeth Jane Maher. He died on 7 October 2011 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Peter Rendall was born on 4 September 1926 in Paddington, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950), The Three Hostages (1952) and How Does It End? (1952). He was married to Ann Summers. He died on 28 April 2012 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

John E. Zecchini was born on 27 April 1907. He was an actor, known for The Adventures of Mr. Pickwick (1921). He died on 15 January 1977 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Chris Pye was born on 21 March 1947 in the UK. He was a producer and writer, known for Unsolved Mysteries (1987), Missing... Have You Seen This Person? (1985) and Too Good to Be True? (1979). He died on 10 July 2018 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.

Jill Gregory was born on 10 October 1917 in Bristol, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Le lac des cygnes (1937), The Sleeping Princess (1939) and Checkmate (1939). She was married to David Blake Kelly. She died on 5 January 2010 in Chiswick, London, England, UK.