OBITUARY: ISLE OF WIGHT’S RAYMOND ‘RAY’ ALLEN PASSES AWAY AGED 82

Ryde resident Raymond Allen, who wrote the popular 70s sitcom Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, has sadly died aged 82.

Ray was born on the Island in March 1940 and attended Ryde Secondary Modern School. After leaving school, he became a reporter for the Ryde Times at the age of just 16. He later served in the RAF before then returning to Ryde, taking various menial jobs locally.

Allen had written around 40 serious plays before he finally found success with Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, which was first broadcast by the BBC in 1973. After 1 script had been accepted, he was then invited to write 6 further episodes – and 2 further series followed.

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Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em was wildly successful. At a time before the internet, the whole nation would gather around their television screens to watch the most popular TV shows. The sitcom attracted a regular audience of 17million, and a Christmas Special was seen by 23million.

The series Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em features the misadventures of the hapless and seemingly unemployable Frank Spencer (played by Michael Crawford). Ray Allen’s personal experiences in various jobs sometimes mirrored the misfortunes of Frank in the television sitcom and many of the street names mirrored those of streets in Ryde.

Before the BBC accepted Ray’s script for Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, the would-be scriptwriter had been working in the Regal Cinema in Shanklin as a toilet cleaner. He had initially intended to work there for 6 months, but ended up staying for 5 years. Up until his death, Ray was the patron of Shanklin Theatre and the Apollo Theatre in Newport.

When initially working for the BBC, Ray was hindered by the fact that he didn’t have a telephone in his Haylands home and was obliged to use the public telephone box in the Ryde suburb.

Ray recalled his experiences using the public telephone for scriptwriting conferences:

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“There was a local telephone box and that was right by the bus stop and every time you had to time your script conferences to be in between the Havenstreet bus. It was terrible!

“You had this big long script. I never had the sense to reverse the charges. I used to have a sock full of coins and it was a nightmare!”

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em was Ray Allen’s only major success as a scriptwriter, although he wrote sketches for numerous comedy legends including Frankie Howerd, Dave Allen, Hale and Pace, Jimmy Cricket and Little and Large.

Ray continued to live in Ryde after his comedy hit, which earned him enough money to afford his own house in the town.

Ray died on Sunday 2nd October following a short illness.

In a statement, his family have said:

“It is with greatest sadness that we announce the passing of our much-loved husband, stepfather, and grandad. After a short illness, with family and friends by his side, he passed away peacefully on Sunday 2 October 2022.

“His life’s work gave joy and laughter to many millions of people not just in this country but all around the world. Raymond has left us all with wonderful memories filled with fun, laughter, and love. He will be remembered as a very humble, kind and generous man. His legacy will live on. He will be greatly missed by many.”