Green Wyvern Yachting Club
Whilst going through Cecil's notes and records of the Club, I came across a Suffling, and on the flyleaf were the names, 'Cecil Howard from Percy Shenton, 1953.' The past indeed! Not 1953 but earlier, possibly 1935 or '36, during the seminal cruises of the Green Wyvern Yachting Club.
In some ways Percy Shenton was the Baptist of our Club. He was a master
at Newton's and, with Bert and Cecil, led some early cruises on such yachts
as Pastime, Freya, Daydream, the property of the legendary Bob Applegate
of Potter Heigham. An equally apocryphal character, DJ or Didgie Birch
sailed then. In the sense of the word 'fabulous.'
The really definitive story of Percy is of the occasion when his yacht,
sailing in a strong wind, became mixed up with trees, causing a shattered
mast and a shredded sail. Unmoved, Percy said quietly, 'What a shemozzle.'
He always organised his crew in fine detail. Each member had a role and
was named as 'i/c tea' or 'i/c kedge' or even, 'i/c string.' Like Cecil
he played a good hand at Bridge.
Wallas (1916- 1995), who died recently in Australia, was one of the earliest sailors with the Green Wyvern. He sailed before the war and afterwards was frequently a member of the early cruises.
He was a Newtonian, Head Prefect in the middle Thirties and an Exhibitioner
at Christ's, Cambridge where he read English. He developed his early interest
in the stage and appeared in 'Footlights' reviews. He later served in
the artillery during the war and rose to the rank of Major.
After the war he returned to acting and appeared in various revues and
toured with 'Tomorrow's Child' and 'Seagulls over Sorrento'. His big break
came when he was cast by Joan Littlewood in one of her workshop productions
'Fings ain't what they used t'be'.
However, he is best known for his work in TV and wireless. He was one
of the cast, (with Jimmy Edwards and Joy Nicholls) as the 'man from the
buildings' in 'Take it from here' and later appeared with Frankie Howerd
in 'Up Pompeii'.
He emigrated to Australia in the late seventies and developed a second
career in Australian cinema. Some of his films have appeared on BBC channels.