A NEW exhibition - An Actor's Life - opens on Saturday at Aardvark Books in Brampton Bryan.

Focussing on the life and career of the late actor Martin Benson who appeared in hundreds of films, television programmes and plays from the 1940s to the 2000s, the show is a very personal venture for Aardvark Books proprietor Sheridan Swinson, because Martin Benson was his stepfather, and he witnessed some of the performances including his role as the Vogon Captain in the classic sci-fi series The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Sheridan says: ‘ When my mother first proposed that we put on an exhibition about Martin I had mixed feelings as I was still mourning his passing, and I was worried that it would be too emotional. As the show has come together however it has been a wonderful experience, as drawer after drawer of the most fantastic material has come to light.’

The exhibition includes hundreds of photographs from Martin Benson’s time in Hollywood when he worked on such iconic films as ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’, ‘The King and I’ and ‘Goldfinger’. It also includes some unique material from the Second World War when Martin Benson acted in and organised large entertainments for the troops in Britain and the Middle East.

As Sheridan puts it: ‘Martin was truly the most remarkable man. From humble origins in North London he trained as a chemist before joining up to fight Hitler. His regiment was ordered to stay and hold the line in Dunkirk, and they were overrun and the survivors captured. For most people that would have been the end of their war, but for Martin that only spurred him on to escape from the Germans, cross back through their lines, and then get out of Dunkirk on one of the last small boats to leave the beaches

The exhibition runs from Saturday to Sunday, June 26 during bookshop hours and is open every day.