Windsor Davies

Windsor Davies
Windsor Davies (right) with Donald Sinden and Susie Silvey during filming of Never the Twain
Born	Windsor Davies (1930-08-28) 28 August 1930 Canning Town, West Ham, London
Years active	1962-2004
Spouse	Eluned Davies (1957 - present)
Children	5

Windsor Davies (born 28 August 1930, Canning Town, West Ham, London) is an Anglo-Welsh actor, best known for playing the part of Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the British sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–81).

Early life and career

Davies was born to Welsh parents, who returned to their native Nant-y-Moel when the Second World War began in 1939. Davies studied at Ogmore Grammar School and Bangor Teacher Training College. He worked as a teacher at Mountside School for Boys in Leek, Staffordshire and did national service in Libya and Egypt with the East Surrey Regiment between 1950-1952 before deciding to become an actor. Davies was born the youngest of three boys, with two older brothers, Tudor and Stuart.

Davies' best known role was as Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the British sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–81). Among his catchphrases was "Shut Up!", delivered as an eardrum-shattering military scream. Another phrase was "Oh dear, how sad, never mind", delivered in a dry, ironic manner, and used when others around him had problems. Davies and co-star Don Estelle had a number one hit in the UK with a semi-comic version of "Whispering Grass" in 1975. He played major roles in two later Carry On films, Behind (1975) and England (1976), in the latter as a sergeant major. He played the antique dealer, Oliver Smallbridge, in Never the Twain (1981–91), with Donald Sinden.

Davies played Mog in the classic Welsh film Grand Slam (1978) and played the sailor Taffy in the first of the BBC-series The Onedin Line (1971). He is also known as the voice of Sergeant Major Zero in Gerry Anderson's Terrahawks (1983–86) television series, and appeared in the Doctor Who story The Evil of the Daleks as Toby in 1967. He auditioned to be the voice of the UK's speaking clock in 1984.

Davies has performed a large amount of advertising voice-over work, and his distinctive, deep voice could be heard as New Zealand's Pink Batts house insulations and confectionery ads for Cadbury's Wispa and also for Heinz Curried (Baked) Beans with his catchphrase, "Beans for the connoisseur". He also appeared alongside New Zealand rugby union coach Alex Wyllie in New Zealand advertisements for Mitre 10 hardware stores in the early 1990s. In the 1970s, Davies read an edition of Radio Four's Morning Story programme. He played a sergeant in the Highland Regiment in Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1972) with Jim Dale and Spike Milligan.

Windsor Davies narrated the audiobook for the Ladybird children's classic Treasure Island written by Robert Louis Stevenson and played a night porter in the BBC sitcom My Family in the episode "Going Dental" in 2004.

Filmography

• The Pot Carriers (1962)
• Murder Most Foul (1964)
• The Alphabet Murders (1965)
• Arabesque (1966)
• The Family Way (1966)
• Drop Dead Darling (1966)
• Hammerhead (1968)
• Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
• UFO (1970)
• Clinic Exclusive (1971)
• Endless Night (1972)
• Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1972)
• Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974)
• It Ain't Half Hot Mum (TV, 1974–81)
• Mister Quilp (1975)
• Carry On Behind (1975)
• Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976)
• Not Now, Comrade (1976)
• Carry On England (1976)
• The Playbirds (1978)
• Grand Slam (1978)
• Terrahawks (1983–86)
• Gabrielle and the Doodleman (1984)
• Rupert and the Frog Song (1984)
• Old Scores (1991)
• The Princess and the Cobbler (1993)
• Mosley (1997)
• Gormenghast (1999)
• 2point4 Children (1999)
• Casualty (2000)
• My Family, in the episode "Going Dental" (2004)

External links

• Windsor Davies at IMDb