Ben Tillett was born in Cardiff in July 1909. He passed away peacefully in January 1996.
In the intervening years, he performed 'on the halls' with his father and sisters; served in the RAF in Egypt and Cyprus during WW2; was proud father to his son Selwyn and adoring husband to Nellie (known as Norma); was churchwarden at St Nicholas, Canvey Island; worked as a postman in the latter years of his life; and between all this wrote poetry.
Much of it is light comic verse in the style of his background in the entertainment industry; some is unashamedly sentimental love poetry to his beloved wife; occasionally he takes a darker and more reflective stance on the state of the world. Ben himself chose his favourite pieces many years ago, and one of the 'lockdown projects' for his son and daughter-in-law, nearly a quarter-century after his passing, was to assemble a small book of these.
This slim 48-page volume, including a short introduction and many photographs, is now available to order. Profits will be in aid of St Mary Magdalene Church, Norwich, of which Ben's son Selwyn is priest-in-charge.
