Elton Hayes

Who was Elton Hayes?

Elton Hayes was a British actor and guitarist.

Hayes was born in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England. Both his parents were actors and he made his first stage appearance aged nine. He too wanted to be an actor, but he also learned the violin and the ukelele. In his teens, he won a scholarship to the Fay Compton School of Dramatic Arts. There he received an extensive theatrical education. His first job was as assistant stage manager with the Old Stagers' Company at the Canterbury Theatre and he sang in his spare time at local social clubs.

Hayes took up the guitar shortly before World War II when he accepted one as security from a friend who had borrowed 30 shillings. Guitars would cause his later fame, accompanying him while he sang old English folk songs and ballads. Hayes volunteered for military service in 1939. He was commissioned in the Royal West Kent Regiment and was posted to India. After the Japanese surrender, he hitch-hiked to Bombay where he was appointed Officer Commanding ENSA in Rawalpindi.

Despite contracting rheumatic fever, which caused his fingers to stiffen, he continued playing. A few days after returning to Britain, he visited the BBC, still in uniform, to watch a broadcast of Children's Hour and was immediately taken on to write and perform a slot in the programme based on Edward Lear's Nonsense Rhymes. Soon after he was given a regular slot on the BBC Radio show "In Town Tonight" in 1946. From then on he performed on radio and television frequently in Britain. On an eight-week tour of North America, he made 113 appearances.