Mary Wimbush

Mary Wimbush (19 March 1924 – 31 October 2005) was an English actress whose career spanned sixty years.

Active across film, television, theatre and radio, she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1969 film Oh! What a Lovely War. Her television credits included Poldark (1975–77), Jeeves and Wooster (1990–92), and Century Falls (1993). She played Julia Pargetter in BBC Radio 4's popular soap opera The Archers from 1992 until her death.

Early life and education Wimbush was born on 19 March 1924 in Kenton, Middlesex (today in North-West London). Her father was a schoolmaster and her mother had trained at RADA, but did not pursue a stage career, although the family enjoyed taking part in amateur dramatics. They moved to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, when Mary was four.

Wimbush was educated at Berkhamsted School for Girls, and at St Agnes & St Michael's Convent, an Anglican school in East Grinstead. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, before joining the Amersham repertory company.

Wimbush was buried in Berkhamsted next to the graves of her parents in Rectory Lane Cemetery. Mary's elder sister, Joanna, was also buried there in 2013.

Personal life In 1946 Mary Wimbush married actor Howard Marion-Crawford; they had one son and two grandchildren. From 1960 until his death in 1963, she was in a relationship with the poet Louis MacNeice, having acted in several of his radio plays.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1969 Oh! What a Lovely War Mary Emma Smith 1970 Fragment of Fear 'Bunface' 1972 Vampire Circus Elvira