Andy Merriman - Hattie; The Authorised Biography of Hattie Jacques

For Susan Hill

Without whom this book wouldnt have been written. Your humour, guidance and friendship are sorely missed.

S T P AUL S, THE parish church of Covent Garden, designed by Inigo Jones, and affectionately known as The Actors Church, has had an association with Londons theatre community stretching back nearly three hundred and fifty years. It was thus entirely appropriate that on a bright, crisp day in November 1980, Monday the tenth to be exact, a large troupe of family, friends and fellow performers gathered to pay their respects to a much-loved actress and comedienne.

A memorial service to celebrate the life and work of Miss Hattie Jacques conducted by the churchs chaplain, the Reverend John Arrowsmith, played to a full house on that day and was, according to Hatties ex-husband, John Le Mesurier, a joyous occasion, full of laughter. It was, by all accounts, a life-affirming event, which banished gloom and sadness to the wings, while humour and warmth took centre-stage. This is not merely show-business hype, but a sincere testament to the woman being honoured.

The service commenced with the congregation belting out a rousing rendition of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, a somewhat surprising choice for the Oh so English Hattie. This was followed by a touching and amusing account of Hatties life by John Le Mesurier, who stated, There are givers and takers. Hattie was a giver. She had an aura of kindness around her and also a very sharp and earthy wit.

A choir of twenty regular artistes from The Players Theatre performed A Musical Portrait a medley of music hall songs that brought Hattie to fame. They opened, apparently to the audiences amusement, with My Old Man Said Follow the Van, followed by several Players favourites, and ended with Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

Kenneth Williams gave the address and told the following story. In the 1960s, he and other celebrities attended a fundraising event, arranged, as ever, by Hattie, for the Leukaemia Association at Chelsea Town Hall. The stars had to assemble around an icecream stall, cornets in hand, and were asked by the photographer to lick their own cornets and then turn and lick each others.

Williams remarked to Hattie, I dont fancy licking other peoples cornets! They may have germs and I dont even know them Hattie responded by saying, Dont worry, if you catch anything, Ill introduce you.

This anecdote received the laugh that Williams desired, and after several more reminiscences he ended on a serious note by quoting from the poem Welcoming Land by Clemence Dane (Winifred Ashton).

Then came exiles who fled from death.

Hunted Huguenots, Jews from Spain

To the wise island, drew sobbing breath,

The easy air and smelled the may,

Sweet as a kiss on a summers day.

The last line of the poem held personal significance for Kenneth Williams and, in the diaries that he wrote in later years, Williams explained, Hatties Christmas present to me showed special thoughtfulness. Months before I had told her how I had lost a greatly loved 78 rpm recording of Noel Coward reading Welcoming Land by Clemence Dane. Shed scoured half the gramophone exchange and mart shops in London to find it for me. There it was on my plate on Christmas Day with a special message written on the sleeve. It was a joy to have it back again and when I played it and heard those precisely modulated tones talking about the hunted people who fled from persecution to this wise island I knew the last line would forever symbolise Hattie for me.

Following Kenneth Williams tribute, the ensemble sang Sir Hubert Parry and William Blakes Jerusalem a hymn that typified Hatties patriotic feelings for her beloved England. As the crowd slowly dispersed, composer and pianist Peter Greenwell, a Players original and celebrated for arranging the music for Sandy Wilsons The Boyfriend, played a poignant version of Over the Rainbow Hatties favourite show tune. (Judy Garland had been an acquaintance of Hatties and one of her heroines.)

Hatties friend and personal secretary, Martin Christopherson, was quoted in the press the following day as saying, She was not a very religious person not irreligious, but she would not have approved of a formal memorial. She would have said, Lets have something bright and jolly. Bright and jolly it was. Today a splendidly efflorescent cherry tree planted in her memory grows nobly in the church grounds, and inside the church is a memorial plaque which states simply, Hattie Jacques 19221980. An all-too-brief epitaph to an exceptionally talented, sometimes troubled woman, who was truly loved and whose adventurous spirit, extraordinary warmth and generous nature touched all who knew her.

It is a most agreeable seaplace excepting those on the Devonshire coast, I ever saw at present the place cannot contain above twenty or thirty strangers, I should think I have bathed four times, and I believe I shall persevere on. Sir Lucas Pepys says my disease is entirely nervous.

A CTRESS S ARAH S IDDONS (17551831)
FOLLOWING A VISIT TO S ANDGATE IN 1790

T HE TOWN OF Sandgate is situated between Folkestone and Hythe and extends for nearly a mile and a half along the Kent coastline, boasting panoramic views of the English Channel. According to the towns official website, Beneath steep wooded slopes you will find an area teeming with naval, military and social history and a village with a fascinating mix of architectural styles. It was in one of Sandgates more imposing Victorian houses that, on 7 February 1922, Hattie Jacques made her first public appearance.

The Jaques family were living at 116 Sandgate High Street when Hattie was born, but she was actually born more or less opposite, in number 125 Sandgate High Street, which conveniently was a nursing home for a number of years. In the light of Hatties later extensive charitable work, it is interesting to note that the property in which she was born is now owned by the multi-millionaire Roger De Haan, founder of Saga, who uses the premises as a base for the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust.

It is quite likely that Hatties first adoring public was her mother and the delivering doctor. No applause, certainly no laughter, but just the necessary ministrations from the attendant staff, and perhaps later inquisitive attention from other mothers.

In fact, Hattie wasnt even known as Hattie at this early stage in her life. She was given the affectionate nickname over two decades later and so when recorded on 18 February 1922 in Folkestone, the birth was registered in her real name of Josephine Edwina Jaques. It wasnt just her first name that was later changed. The family surname at that time was Jaques, and the more familiar form by which Hattie became known Jacques was adopted by her and her brother Robin in later years in an attempt to recapture a little of the fashionable French derivation.

Hatties mother, Mary Thorn, who was born in Chelsea in 1899, had met Robin Rochester Jaques while he was in the services and she was a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse. The couple had their first child, a son, also called Robin, in 1920 (27 March). Marys own father was Joseph Edwin Thorn, and Hattie was obviously named in her grandfathers honour. Joseph owned a jewellers shop and pawnbrokers. His wife, Adelaide, Hatties grandmother, was the daughter of William Brown, a deceased East End cheesemonger and his wife, Hannah, thought to be of Jewish descent.

On her fathers side, Hatties grandfather, Joseph Rochester Jaques was born in Northumberland and was described in the 1901 census as a billiard room manager. His wife, Hatties other grandmother, Florence Emily King (known as Flora), was born in Dartmouth, Devon, and was the daughter of a Newton Abbot bookseller. Hatties father, Robin Rochester Jaques was born in Newcastle in 1897 and lived with his parents at 17, King John Street, Heaton, a well-to-do part of Newcastle to this day.