Carry on star great escape actor

By Chris Brooke. He was a household name playing bumbling buffoons in the Carry On films. But behind Peter Butterworth was an extraordinary wartime backstory that can now be revealed in full for the first time.

Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth 4 February [1] — 17 January was an British actor and comedian best known for his appearances in the Carry On film series. He was also a regular on children's television and radio. Butterworth was married to actress and impressionist Janet Brown. Butterworth was born on 4 February , in Bramhall, Cheshire. Four were killed; Butterworth and his air gunner became POWs. It was there he met Talbot Rothwell , who later went on to write many of the Carry On films in which Butterworth was to star.

Carry on star great escape actor

The Great Escape and The Wooden Horse are two classic British World War II escape films, but what is perhaps less well known is that one of the team involved in both of the escapes that inspired them would go on to become a star of the Carry On movies. Now, 80 years on, Peter Butterworth's recently discovered German prison identity card is going on display as part of an exhibition telling the story of his life as a prisoner of war. Butterworth served in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm during the war but was shot down in , spending the rest of it as a prisoner of war. Butterworth, who appeared in 16 Carry On films, helped hide the sand for the escape tunnels featured in the Great Escape and was on the organising committee for the tunnels featured in The Wooden Horse, but it has taken decades for the full story to emerge. It was his wartime role - working alongside Carry On screenwriter Talbot Rothwell whose plane was also shot down - that helped birth the Carry On humour Butterworth later became famous for. A cache of prisoner of war documents recently released from a German archive is now going on display at the National Archives in London, which adds new detail to the gradually unfolding story. The documents arrived from Germany and have been catalogued by a team of volunteers. For his son Tyler Butterworth, it has been a revelation. It's remarkable. However, in Stalag Luft 3, he was an officer and code writer in MI9, the military intelligence agency responsible for organising escapes from prison camps. It was a mystery to even his own son until long after his death in He never said this to my sister and I, but my mother the impressionist Janet Brown told me about things that happened, especially right at the start of their marriage, after the war, where he'd suddenly leap out of bed at night and throw himself on the floor and start hiding. She had to barricade the bedroom door because the staircase was outside. In the escape immortalised in the classic film The Great Escape, Butterworth helped hide the soil from the tunnels in the camp theatre. Inmates would be encouraged to smoke pipes near where the soil was stored to mask the smell.

The Dancing Princesses 7. David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. Share or comment on this article: Carry On Escaping!

An actor famous for playing bumbling comic characters in the legendary Carry-On films hid an extraordinary past that saw him take part in the iconic Great Escape prison camp breaks during World War 2. Peter Butterworth was best known by TV and cinema audiences for his quirky portrayal of different roles in 16 films from the long-running comedy film franchise. But as a young man hailing from Cheshire, Peter had joined the RAF to fight the Nazis and rose to the rank of lieutenant in the RAF before being captured after his aircraft was shot down in On March 24, , Peter was part of an incredible feat that saw 76 of those brave RAF men escape from the camp using a network of tunnels they had dug themselves. But despite his acting credentials, Peter himself was rejected for a part in another film covering the prison escape called the Wooden Horse. However, Peter, who died in , went on to become a household name in Carry On films sharing the screen with the likes of Barbara Windsor and Sid James.

Carry On star Peter Butterworth has been revealed as a World War Two hero after helping to free 76 airmen from a Polish prison by secretly passing messages to British Intelligence. According to the National Archives, Peter, who was best known for his cheeky one-liners, was a POW [a prisoner of war] who helped 76 airmen flee Poland on March 24 , one year before the war ended. The actor, who was then known as Lt Butterworth realised he could pass coded messages to the British Intelligence, as the prisoners were allowed to write letters home to their loved ones. More than four decades on from his death in , Dr Will Butler, of the National Archives, said: "He was a talented artist and is noted in the camp records as a highly skilled forger of documents. Peter was an airman with the Fleet Air Arm but was targeted and shot down at the beginning of the second World War and spent the remainder of his time as a prisoner of war. Peter staged an escape through tunnels and managed to release himself from prison for six weeks but was unfortunately caught by a member of the Hitler Youth.

Carry on star great escape actor

By Chris Brooke. He was a household name playing bumbling buffoons in the Carry On films. But behind Peter Butterworth was an extraordinary wartime backstory that can now be revealed in full for the first time. As a prisoner of war, not only was Lieutenant Butterworth closely involved in organising the famous Great Escape from Stalag Luft III, but he also played a vital role in passing coded messages back to British intelligence in apparently innocent letters to home. He was supposed to have been the last man in the tunnel, but ended up staying behind when 76 airmen famously escaped the Nazi POW camp on March 24, Researchers who uncovered new details of his Second World War exploits in the National Archives believe he may have remained in the camp to carry on his vital coding work.

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Peter Butterworth and his son, Tyler, who knew nothing about his father's war history when he was younger.

Carry On beginnings. Chilling comparisons between Valencia blaze and Grenfell disaster as cladding is blamed again for Spanish Funnyman Pete died in January, Carry on Up the Khyber. More about movies. BBC News. Wikimedia Commons. Get the best celeb gossip with the Daily Star Showbiz newsletter. When the Carry on films finished in , Butterworth began to concentrate on straight roles, taking a small part in the feature film The First Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery, [12] and the Alan Bennett play "Afternoon Off" both Comments Share what you think. Peter Butterworth Actor Writer. David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. BBC Breakfast. His failure to return for the following day's matinee show caused alarm, and he was found dead in his room from a heart attack.