I was a prize goon in Ellington’s entourage

OVER the years, I have had some embarrassing moments — but one in particular sticks in my mind. Back in the Forties and Fifties I was a big fan of Ray Ellington, who was a huge star on TV and radio, appearing every week on The Goon Show. He also toured the country with his quartet and singer Marion Ryan, having had a massive hit with a swing version of The Three Bears. (Incidentally, his son Lance is now a singer on Strictly Come Dancing.) In fact, he was so popular that in Ilfracombe, Devon, where I lived at the time, it was rumoured that two adjacent pubs on the High Street, the Railway and the Wellington, were to be knocked into one and renamed the Ray Ellington. You can imagine how thrilled I was when, as a naive 16-year-old trainee photographer, I was assigned to cover his performance at the Queen’s Hall in Barnstaple. The big man arrived early and chatted to fans in the foyer. ‘That was some journey,’ he exclaimed. ‘Boy, am I thirsty!’ Eager to please him, I rushed to the bar and returned with a glass of water. ‘What’s this?’ he asked with a frown as I handed it to him. ‘Well, you said you were thirsty,’ I answered. As surrounding fans tittered, the penny dropped. To his credit, Ray drank half of it and said: ‘Thanks son,’ before heading off for a proper drink at the bar. I think he saw the funny side of it, as he later gave me a big grin when I took his photo.

Roger Vince, Upper Brynamman,

Carmarthenshire.