The Great Escaper’s care home ‘ecstatic’ at film fame
IT WAS a tale of a pensioner’s derring-do that captured headlines around the world.
Bernard Jordan, an 89-year-old SecondWorldWar veteran, slipped out of an English care home to attend the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations in France.
Now the boss of that home is “ecstatic” after learning Sir Michael Caine will play Bernard, who was nicknamed the Great Escaper after going on the run in June 2014.
The ex-Royal Navy officer featured in news bulletins around the world after becoming the centre of a missing persons search when he jumped on a ferry and headed for Normandy.
The former Second World War submariner, mayor and longserving councillor, managed to pay his respects with his fellow veterans before being found and brought back to the home in Hove, East Sussex, where he lived with his wife Irene.
Now his extraordinary tale is being made into The Great Escaper, starring Sir Michael alongside Glenda Jackson as Irene.
Bernard died six months later, with Irene dying just days after “of a broken heart”, a friend said.
But staff at his care home spoke of their joy that Bernard’s adventure will be remembered in a movie with A-list stars.
Manager Tiago Conceicao said his team at The Pines were “thrilled and ecstatic” at the news. Mr Conceicao, who was a nurse on shift the day Bernard went missing, said he had heard whispers a movie was in the pipeline, but never believed it was true. He added: “The actors playing him and Irene are just a great testament to their life.
“It’s such a warm story that your life doesn’t end when you enter a nursing home.
“You can still go about your life and still do the things you love. That is how all nursing homes should be and allow you to be the best of yourself.
“I think that’s what we did with Bernie and that’s something that we are all very happy about.”
Veteran movie star Sir Michael, 87, was also excited about taking on the role. He said: “No one can resist a script that makes people both laugh and cry.
“I loved the story, so inspirational and so moving. It seemed to speak to our times and our need for heroes on a human scale, whether people like Bernard or our doctors and nurses.” Mr Conceicao, 30, said he recalled the day very well and was both “relieved and astonished” when Bernard was found safe in France.
He said: “He would go and buy a newspaper every morning and come back at about 1pm or sometimes 3pm.
“On that day we started to get a bit worried. He had told me that
morning, ‘Oh I’m going to France’. He was quite a character and quite a joker, so I just said, ‘Oh, I’ll meet you there’. “We did all panic, but we had some peace of mind that he was safe.As you could see, the lovely gentleman would not take no for an answer. “I was surprised an 89-year-old was able to take all the transport necessary to get to Normandy and manage to get inside the ferry. “It was surprising but in the end we were all rooting for him.”
Oliver Parker, who directed the
films St Trinian’s, Johnny English Reborn and 2016’s Dad’s Army, will direct the movie, with filming set to start in June.
When asked who he wanted to play him in The Great Escaper, Mr Conceicao laughed and said: “I’m not sure but I am Portuguese, so maybe Javier Bardem.” Filming will begin in June with entertainment company Pathe planning to present the movie at the European Film Market in Berlin.
Sir Michael is a two-time Oscar winner, picking up Best Supporting Actor gongs for Hannah And Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules. Glenda, 84, a former Labour MP, also boasts two Academy Awards. She won Best Actress for Women In Love and A Touch Of Class. Bernard was made an honorary life member of the Veterans Association UK and made an honorary alderman of Brighton and Hove following his adventure.
THE world’s oldest boy band has never lacked celebrity support. Katherine Jenkins, Michael Ball and Alfie Boe are all admirers of the spine-tingling vocals of the Fron Male Voice Choir. But imagine its members’ delight when they learned Her Majesty had added their double-platinum debut album, Voices Of The Valley Encore, to her Sandringham Christmas playlist.
As the choir – eldest singer, 89 – releases another record to add to its million-plus sales, tenor Allan Smith, 77, proudly reads from the letter sent by a Buckingham Palace aide, informing the choir of their royal seal of approval… and confiding that the music wasn’t the only attraction.
“I tried to obtain a preview of your calendar via the internet for Her Majesty, but was unfortunately blocked by Palace computer security, indicating that it really must have been a fun calendar!” reads Allan.
Indeed it was. Back in 2008, 12 members of the choir stripped off for a series of photos to raise £4,000 for Help The Aged.
Allan is not sure if the Queen ever did see the senior crooners in their calendar poses – modesty preserved by carefully placed props and lighting – but he does hope to be top of the Sandringham pops again this Christmas.
A copy of the choir’s new record Echoes, released tomorrow, will be in the post to Her Majesty ready for the royal festivities.
Having the Queen as a fan is one of the numerous highlights for this all-male Welsh choir during its 73-year run.
Hailing from the village of Froncysyllte, in North Wales, from which it takes its name, the choir was catapulted to fame in 2006 after boy band Blue’s manager, Daniel Glatman, saw members sing a rousing rendition of Delilah at a wedding.
That led to a record deal with global music company Universal. On top of selling one million records, the choir added a host of awards, and has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Cologne Cathedral and The Cloister church in Austria, made famous by The Sound Of Music film.
Grandfather-of-four Allan, one of only 10 English singers in the 58-strong Welsh group, jokes: “Life hasn’t been normal since 2006 when this whole thing began.”
He’s sung with Vera Lynn, Aled Jones and, most recently, the Tony Award-winning English tenor Alfie Boe.
And he will never forget the moment the choir tasted that first thrilling moment of success. “You can’t describe it,” he says. “We were on a bus on our way to London to do a concert and were listening to the Classic FM top 20 countdown.
“We heard a voice saying, ‘New in at number one...’ and our name was said. Well, as you imagine, the bus wouldn’t stop rocking! And we stayed at the top for 14 weeks.”
Voices Of The Valley, recorded with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and featuring Michael Ball on one track, even reached number nine in the pop charts.
The singers are proud of their Welsh heritage, and insist that single-sex groups are part of that tradition, so don’t expect to see them recruiting sopranos any time soon.
“Male voices are popular, dating back to the mining industry when men sang in the pitch black to keep in contact with one another and to keep their lungs clear,” Allan says. “Today, every town has a male voice choir. I can’t see The Fron being anything other than that.”
But that’s probably where the similarity with other boy bands ends. The only demands on their dressing room rider list are cough sweets and hot drinks, and I get the feeling that of all the singers on Universal’s label, they are probably the easiest to manage.
Right now, concerts are on hold because of the pandemic but members rehearse over Zoom every Thursday and chat online on Mondays. “We’re coping as well as we can but I really miss the meet-ups – and having a couple of beers afterwards,” Allan says.
Echoes, a blend of musical covers and