Mary Wimbush

Mary Wimbush was a stalwart actress of repertory and West End theatre, who played three separate roles in the long-running BBC Radio serial "The Archers". She was born in Kenton, Middlesex in 1924. Her father was a schoolmaster and her mother trained at RADA, but did not pursue a career on the stage. Mary attended the Berkhamsted School for Girls and also boarded at the St Agnes and St Michael's, an Anglican convent at East Grinstead. Mary trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, before joining Amersham rep. Her wartime marriage to the actor Howard Marion-Crawford by whom she had a son, ended in divorce. Her partnership with the poet Louis MacNeice lasted from 1958 until his death in 1963. She appeared regularly on film, radio and television in character roles until her sudden death in October 2005, following a recording of "The Archers" at the BBC's Birmingham studios. She was 81.