"I met Bill for the first time when he came to the museum to ask if he could have an exhibition of his collection of 120 glove puppets and numerous backcloths way back in 1995. He had retired that year after ten years of performing on Aberystwyth promenade.
I attended his funeral in Leamington Spa on 10 April where I discovered a lot more about the man and his life. I was able to describe some of the events which took place after his retirement from farming in the Llangeitho area.
Bill Dane was a former resident of Tregaron. He had set up as a Professor of Punch and Judy shows late in life. He changed from breeding Dexter cattle at Tan-y- Bryn Farm to becoming a performer of children's shows. At 60, after a couple of years farming in the Llangeitho area, Bill gradually turned back to a former fascination of his puppetry.
He was incredibly energetic and ran a disco too, known as 'The Belgrano'. As well as performing his puppet shows to children he loved to entertain teenagers and adults.
Puppet masters are known as Professors. In those early days as a 'Professor' he was asked to do a summer season in Aberaeron and operated from the Hive on the Quay helping to advertise the honey ice cream made by Mary and Sarah Holgate.
It was the first time Aberaeron had ever had a full-time Punch and Judy man. That job led to his being employed in Lampeter, Cilcennin, Llangeitho and eventually Aberystwyth promenade.
After his first season on the prom. he was invited to Paris to perform and appeared on the Champs Elysee in the heart of the city. He loved it.
At first Bill bought Punch and Judy puppets and started making backcloths for the puppet booth which he carried round to various venues.
He wanted to include other characters and constantly changed the traditional story to include contemporary figures. Eventually he made his own puppets.
These were carved out of wood and he made the clothes too. There were punks, organic farmers even Tony Blair appeared in one show.
He liked to play with the idea of the traditional show but also include contemporary issues for the adults.
Many of his jokes had double meanings and he even had an adult version of the Mr. Punch show which was very popular in night clubs!'
After he retired from performing his collection was shown in 1995 at Ceredigion Museum.
He offered to loan us his entire collection so we could tour the puppets to other museum across Britain.
We accepted and started to advertise the show but he was asked to perform once again.
This time it was an offer he couldn't refuse. The British Council had asked him to perform in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on an all expenses paid trip.
Since then Bill loaned the puppets to Ceredigion Museum and they have been exhibited in various museums and galleries including St Brieuc, Bridlington, Weston-Super-Mare, Torfaen, Swansea, Bexley Heath, Bersham, Folkstone, Dudley, the West Midlands, and Evesham. This year, 2008, they are booked to appear in Scarborough over the summer.
Bill Dane was christened Francis William Butcher and any further information about his life and adventures would be warmly welcomed by Ceredigion Museum where his puppets will remain for all to enjoy."
Aber's Punch and Judy Festival...
Article by Gwenllian Ashley
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Jacqui Parkes,
I met Bill through our shared passion for Dexter cattle. Bill purchased his first Dexters in 1975 whilst running a small riding holiday business with Mr Tane Taylor on the edge of Dartmoor. The business was closed after Mr Taylor, who was originally from New Zealand had to return to his homeland and Bill went out to New Zealand with him. When Bill returned from overseas, he moved into Tan-y-Bryn Farm before setting up in the Old Fire Station in Tregaron. In his latter years, he was a frequent visitor to our smallholding and we spent many happy hours putting the Dexter world to rights. He is very sadly missed.
Wed Sep 30 11:17:11 2009
Barbara Jurado, gibraltar
I am trying to get information on my auntie's grandfather Bruce Macloud known as Uncle Mac real name William Alexander McPhee. His puppets are currently being exhibited at Museum of Childhood, Edinburgh and appeared at the Festival of Britain in 1951?. My auntie is Marion Clarke nee McPhee whose stage name was Marion Wilde
Wed Jul 29 09:20:29 2009
Mark Long ,from cardiff
I new Bill dane very well as i worked for him on the disco belgrano as a roady as he would say, for about 3yrs,93-96,Also running a few punch an judys shows in swansea for him.I also remember Bill on the james whale show late at night talkin about the history on punch an judy ,there were no limits for Bill dane.he will be remembered through my whole life,an even some old wisdom passed to my children.
Mon Dec 29 10:38:13 2008
Jenny Hyde, Llanrhystud
I first met Bill at Aberaeron, 25 years ago, anxiously setting up for his first public Punch & Judy show. I had been asked to give him a hand. Coincidentally, my grandfather was Bruce Macloud, a famous Punch man of the fifties, who performed for the Queen when she was a child. Bill was thrilled to find someone who knew the ropes that day, and I was able to pass on some of the old tricks of the trade. That day was the beginning of 25 years of a deep friendship with this lovely man. His life story was nothing short of extraordinary. Few people know that after harsh experiences as a soldier in the war, he became a professional dancer. Like everything else in his life, he did things properly or not at all. Together with his wife, he danced across Spain as a top flamenco dancer, even performing for Franco. Later, he became a London choreographer and costume designer before taking up farming, for which he had true passion. Ultimately, that brought him to mid Wales.His funeral was a tribute to both his life and his popularity. People came together from all aspects of his life, and there were many of us there that day that could say he really had been our best friend. What a tribute! Always kind, funny, wise and generous of spirit, he leaves a space no-one can fill.
Wed Apr 23 10:10:03 2008
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