Items from the Douglas Hayward Puppet Archives

William George Simmonds, who was born in Constantinople in 1876 and died in Gloucestershire in 1968, was known for sculpture and puppetry. He had a 20-year professional career with marionettes. Notable Marionette shows included the Circus, Harlequinade and his most celebrated piece; The Woodland, with its cast of forest creatures, nymphs and fauns (currently in the Gloucester Folk Museum).

"Young Recruit & Drill Sergeant" by William Simmonds

Simmonds operated all the figures in his shows single-handed and a feature of all his stage sets was a cleverly disguised central rostrum where he could stand to reach all areas of the stage, but concealed by the scenery. By this method, his stage sets appeared to have considerable depth, without using the complex overhead bridge technique.

(Above) "Trojan", "Lute Player" & "Greek"
(Below) "Pifferari"
by William Simmonds

Simmonds' figures were approximately 14 inches tall. Each part of every puppet’s construction was purposefully created only to convey a specific gesture or character. This meant that although the puppets had a limited range of movement, whatever the puppet did, it did extremely well. A Journalist in "The Observer" in January 1924 wrote; "Mr Simmonds has carved the hands, feet and features of his marionettes with the sensitivity of a fine sculptor."

William Simmonds started making and performing marionettes in 1916, initially for children in and around Cheltenham. Later, when his shows became more adult-orientated, he presented a number of short seasons in London, the last of these at the Grafton Theatre in 1934.

Eric Bramall (left) is seen here in Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1963, collecting puppet pictures from Waldo Lanchester for display at the first of two International Puppet Festivals, which centred around Eric's Harlequin Puppet Theatre, in Rhos-On-Sea, North Wales.

This marionette, currently on display in the Douglas Hayward Puppet Collection at Staffordshire County Museum, is one of four Peasant Dancers (two male, two female) made by Eric Bramall for his 1967 Production of "The Dancing Months" at the Harlequin Marionette Theatre, North Wales.