The Bedside Milligan
by David Palmer 23rd November 2024
In the early 70’s I met up with Philip Le Barr, a 1958 entrant, in a pub. He was with some of his friends whom I also knew. He told me that he was working for Spike Milligan and that spike had written a poem “about” him.
These are photos of the poem and the cover of the book it was published in.
Absolutely incredible little anecdote David. We had that Spike Milligan book and I’m pretty certain I recall that particular poem. I love things like this.
I remember Phillipe Le Bars (as we knew him) and witnessed his car accident. He was on his bike leaving the school and descended the curved sloping entrance ‘drive’ pedalling furiously like a demented dealer. He shot out onto the road straight in front of a car driving from the A20 direction. He hit the front of the car and shot vertically into the air to a height of about 12 feet! He came back down and I think he limped away. The car was not so fortunate the force of the collision stove in the radiator and coolant leaked onto the road. It had to be helped to leave the scene!
I also think that he had a sister called Jeanne (they were very French) who was an actress and starred in a TV series called ‘Stranger on the Shore’ Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazzband played the signature music which became a hit and was often heard on the Light Programme on steam radio.
What an achievement to be immortalised by the wonderful Spike.
In a spurious link Spike in his autobiographical tome ‘Where have all the Bullets gone’ states that he lost his virginity in ‘saucy Sandwich’ in one of our pubs The Admiral Owen he even has a photo of the said pub in the book with the ‘Room of Naughtiness’ marked with a X.
Hope Phil is Hale & Hearty and staying off the roads!
I wonder if this could be Philip. It seems too coincidental not to be him. His writing credits include Q5, obviously a Milligan work. Being born in 1946 (albeit in Swansea) puts him at the right age.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4292447/