Plaque Unveiled to Michael Flanders in Bedford Park
Family, friends and fans gather to honour entertainer and disability campaigner
Ann Chapman introducing the unveiling
A plaque has been unveiled in Bedford Park at the former home of entertainer and disability campaigner Michael Flanders.
His family, friends and fans gathered this month to celebrate his life and legacy in the garden of the house on Esmond Road in a ceremony organised by Ealing Civic Society with the support of the Chiswick Book Festival.
Flanders is best known for the comic songs he wrote and performed with Donald Swann in shows such as At The Drop of A Hat. He was one of the few performers to be seen on stage in a wheelchair and Flanders & Swann have been called “the most influential British double act” in comedy.
On Wednesday 14 September, Michael’s daughters, the journalists Laura and Stephanie Flanders, unveiled the plaque at 63 Esmond Road, where he lived from 1971-75. They and their mother Claudia lived in the family home for several years afterwards, and the girls attended Southfield Primary School.
Afternoon tea was served in the garden by the current owners, Caroline and Richard Williams and their daughter Amelia. Guests included the family; Ealing Civic Society committee members; neighbours who knew Michael and Claudia; Michael’s biographer and archivist Leon Berger; and Peter Sergeant, of the Flanders & Swann tribute act, Smith & Sergeant.
The unveiling was introduced by the Society’s chair Ann Chapman, who said this was the Society’s 16th plaque. The first, a bronze pavement plaque, was unveiled in February 2005 to commemorate the first branch of Waitrose, which opened in 1904 at 263 High Street Acton W3. See more on the Ealing Civic Society website. https://ealingcivicsociety.org
She said: “The Society’s original plan was to install a green ceramic plaque with white lettering on the façade of the premises, but following difficulties in contacting the building’s owners to obtain consent, the Council’s Conservation Officer suggested the installation of a brass pavement plaque and the Council’s consent was sought and given. From this developed the Society’s idea to initiate their own "Green Plaque" scheme to celebrate notable residents of the Borough and the properties related to them.
“They decided that the plaques would be the same size and shape as the English Heritage Blue Plaques but green in colour with white lettering and a white circle at the outer edge. The Flanders plaque is their 16th and they have commemorated a wide variety of people including Ealing’s architect and Borough Engineer Charles Jones, artists, musicians and even Winnie the Pooh, a Farnell Bear from their factory in Acton.”
Laura, Stephanie and Claudia, Michael and Claudia’s granddaughter, under the plaque/ Laura and Claudia Flanders with Caroline Williams
That evening, the Chiswick Book Festival hosted an event, ‘Celebrating Michael Flanders (& Swann)’, chaired by the Festival director Torin Douglas and attended by Donald Swann’s widow Alison Smith.
Laura and Stephanie Flanders discussed their life with their father and his impact on comedy and the world of disability. Cambridge historian and ‘Comedy Chronicles’ writer Graham McCann talked about their career and showed clips of some of their best-known songs, including ‘Patriotic Prejudice’, ‘There’s a hole in my budget’ and the ‘Hippopotamus Song’.
Torin Douglas, Graham McCann, Laura Flanders and Stephanie Flanders
McCann told the packed audience, “Michael Flanders and Donald Swann have had a lasting impact not just on British comedy and music, but on just about every other major point in British entertainment over the last sixty years.” See more on the Chiswick Book Festival website.
The event took place at the ActOne Cinema in Acton High Street, not far from the Michael Flanders Centre for day care in Acton which was opened by his wife Claudia in his memory. Claudia also founded the charity Tripscope to champion better transport and access for the disabled and Laura Flanders – who travelled with her parents around the world when her father was performing - said her mother should also be remembered with an Ealing Civic Society plaque.
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September 25, 2022