Tributes have been paid to Geoffrey Chater, who lived in Iden, near Rye, in his latter years with his wife, Jennifer. The actor, who was president of Iden Bowls Club in recent years, featured in more than 100 TV series and dramas since the 1950s. Geoffrey was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, in 1921. In the Second World War, he joined the Royal Fusiliers in 1940 and when promoted to captain saw active war service in Burma and India. Have you read? CCTV cutbacks blamed for spate of violent attacks in Hastings and St Leonards. On his return in 1946 he began acting in weekly repertory theatre, which proved to be a grounding for the variety of supporting roles he played in numerous TV series and dramas throughout his career. He featured in series such as Heartbeat, Foyle’s War, Dad’s Army, Rumpole of the Bailey, Midsomer Murders and One Foot in the Grave. In The Bill, Geoffrey played a war hero arrested for the attempted murder of his wife when an agreed suicide attempt went wrong. Among his stage highlights was his appearance in Michael Redgrave’s 1965 London production of Turgenev’s A Month In The Country. Have you read? Hastings Premier Inn plans: Does town need a new hotel?. His obituary in the Telegraph obituary described him as the ‘polished and charming character actor acclaimed as Polonius opposite Jonathan Pryce’s Hamlet’. Paying tribute to him, Cynthia Reavell, from Guestling, said: “Geoffrey is surely best-remembered locally for his portrayal of the splendid Mr Algernon Wyse in the 1980s TV series of Mapp & Lucia. “In real life Geoffrey was charming, courteous and unaffected.” Geoffrey died on October 16. He is survived by his wife Jennifer, daughter, Annabel, and two sons, Simon and Piers. Have you read? Counter-terror police search address in Hastings area.
