Neil Hallett

Neil, whose birth name was John N. Neill, hailed from Brussels, where his father held the esteemed position of continental traffic manager for the London North Eastern Railway. Initially, Neil's ambition lay in the realm of sheep farming in South Africa, and for a brief period, he did indeed work as a farmer in England. However, it was only a matter of time before he made the bold decision to pursue a career in acting, at which point he altered his name by appending his grandmother's maiden name, Hallett, to his own surname. Neil made his inaugural stage appearance in 1947 within the confines of repertory theatre in Tunbridge Wells, with subsequent stints at Redditch, Croydon, York, and Stockport. While he did make appearances in a few films, Neil's true claim to fame lay in his television work, particularly in the series "Ghost Squad", "The Informers", and "The Newcomers". Nevertheless, he harboured a deep affinity for the stage, with Stanhope in "Journey's End" emerging as his cherished role.