Are you sitting comfybold, two square on your botty? Then I’ll begin…

The legendary ‘Professor’ Stanley Unwin was born in Pretoria, Transvaal in South Africa in June 1911 to mum Jessie and dad Ivan, who had emigrated out there a few years earlier. Sadly, Ivan died in 1914, and Jessie had no option but to bring the now poverty-stricken family, Stanley and his sisters Gladys and Eveline, home. Jessie found work as a cook in London, with Stanley being put into a children’s home in Cheshire.  A few years later, he studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London, where he took classes in the languages, German and French and learnt the workings of the early days of television and radio.
       
He then found work at the BBC working on transmitters and was stationed in Northampton, where he later moved to with his wife Frances, whom he married in 1937 and their three children. It was whilst reading them bedtime stories, that he invented ‘Unwinese,’ which was very much his own mangled  language, though inspired in part by his mum, who had a whole range of sayings to explain events, like when she once ‘falloped’ over and ‘grazed her kneeclabbers.’

‘Once a polly tighto…’

During the war, Stanley worked for the BBC War Reporting Unit and eventually found his way into the media industry from 1944.
A ‘spoof’ transmission, with Stanley in full flow talking ‘Unwinese’ was recorded whilst testing equipment and then heard by two BBC producers. They liked it and broadcast it on a popular radio show. So well received was it, that they went back for more sketches for shows on BBC Midlands.

Just after the war , Stanley was in Egypt recording shows by comedian Frankie Howerd. One evening, Unwin was pushed on stage to fill a gap, when an actor fell ill. His ‘act’ was heard by a producer who recommended him to comedian Ted Ray ,who immediately signed Stanley up for the series ‘The Spice of Life’ alongside Kenneth Connor and June Whitfield in 1956. Indeed, it was Ted who bestowed the ‘Professorship’ title onto Stanley . 

So, Stan was off and running and found a part in a film called ‘Fun at St. Fanny’s’  which starred Cardew ‘The Cad’  Robinson, before moving on to more parts in films such as ‘Carry on Regardless’ in 1961, and ‘Chitty Chitty Bang’ in 1968, where he played the role of the chancellor of Vulgaria.

In that same year, he crossed over into the pop world with his narration work on the ‘Happiness Stan’ section of the number one album, Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake by The Small Faces. Years later, due to this connection, Stanley & his son John would appear at the annual Small Faces Convention in London, giving a master class of ‘Unwinese’ for us fans gathered to hear the gospel.

Other career highlights for Stanley, include becoming a Gerry Anderson ‘Supermarionation’ puppet called Father Stanley Unwin in the series ‘The Secret Service’ from 1969. He was also a very familiar face on TV, appearing over the years with Jimmy Tarbuck, Eric Sykes, magician David Nixon and comedian Freddie Starr. He was also the author of many books, including Rockabye Babel and The Miscellian Manuscript.

His wife Frances died in 1993 and Stanley himself passed in 2002 aged 90. His thanksgiving service at his local church resounded to his family saying in their farewell speech ‘Goodly byelode loyal peeploders! Now all gatherymost to amuse it and have a tilty elbow or a nice cuffle-oteedee – Oh Yes!’

His and Frances’ gravestone at St Lawrence’s in Long Buckby carries the epitaph

‘Reunitey in the heavenly-bode – Deep Joy!’

How lovely.

 

The Mumper of SE5

 

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