Terry-Thomas programme . Terry-Thomas and Richard Hope Hawkins.
Richard organize the Terry-Thomas Benefit Gala for help Terry
.....inside Terry-Thomas programme.....
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
by Richard Hope Hawkins
One afternoon, during the first week of the New Year, I took a quiete drive in South London with a close friend of mine,
character Thorley Walters. The journey was made to see a friend who had been ill for quite some time.
We arrived with the sun bursting through a few clouds, flooding a cold winter's day with a glorious sunshine.
We made our way up to the flat and knocked gently on a small unobtrusive door. The door of the flat swung open revelating
one of two sons of our friend. We were led into a corridor, which, surprisingly, had no carpet.
It was this fact, along with the general bareness of the place which struck us the most initially.We were led into large room and
we stood in a coroner behind the ominos high back of an armchair. Our friend's wife and two sons were busily angaged in
washing him and then proceeding to gently dress the emaciated figure. After this time-consuming task, he was placed on one
of two single beds with shawl wrapped around his shoulders, a blanket to cover his legs and a colorful skull cap to discreetly
cover the sore which had developed on his head as a direct result of his illness.
As we moved closer to say "hallo" the face that we saw not that a man we knew and loved, but that of a man racked with
pain, with two weeks of facial hair covering his drawn face. Despite this, the thing which both of us noticed was that although
he was in such a pitiful condition, his familiar brown eyes encompassed with a staring gaze, still seemed to get over the feeling
of love and warmth we all knew him well for.
The man was Terry-Thomas!
Unfortunately, he suffers from Parkinson's Disease. Terry is looked after twentyfor hours a day with extreme love, devotion
and affection by his wife and two sons. They are sharing what can only be described as a spartan dwelling owned by church
charity. There is no running water and the only form of heating is provided by one small gas fire. Because of his condition,
their lives are taken up with continuous rounds of washing and the arduous task of spoon feeding him at least three times
a day. When we left our friend's house, the sadness the we had both witnessed simply recuded me to tears. It was at
this moment that I vowed to do anything that I possibly could to help this man who has given laughter and so much pleasure
to millions of people throughout the world, and to make his last years as comfortable as possible.
That evening I met my scriptwriting partner, actor/comedian Jack Douglas, who was performing at the Arts Centre, Horsham,
in a production of "Annie" together with Ed Stewpot Stewart, the radio and television celebrity.
Backstage, the nucleus of a Gala Evening fot Terry-Thomas for the Parkinson's Disease Society was born.