Ann died on Easter Sunday in Elizabeth House. In the recent past she had been one of the ‘ladies who lunch’, a small group of Barn friends who met regularly in The Horns, and she also often spent Sunday lunchtime in the Club bar with the select group of crossword aficionados.

Ann had been a member of the Welwyn Drama Club and the Folk Players in the 1960s and their archives show she worked backstage as ASM on Maria Marten (1965) and An Italian Straw Hat (the 1966 joint production). A year later she worked on sound on One-Way Pendulum.

By this time her future husband Derek had founded the Interluders specifically to perform at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall and they had appeared there in the four years from 1964 onwards. After their 1969 production Derek and Ann married, and started a successful service business in north-east Spain, handing the Interluders to Keith Thompson and Denis Butcher, who renamed the company the Hertfordshire Players. While in Spain Derek and Ann were visited by many of their Hertfordshire friends and were very generous hosts. When they wound the company down and returned to this country over 20 years later, they chose to live in Scotland, on the shores of Loch Lomond, but missing the allure of amdram they soon returned to the Garden City. Derek became the Facilities Director of the Barn, and Ann spent a period as Company Secretary. They eventually returned briefly to Spain, where Derek died, and this brought Ann back to the Barn. Last year ill-health dictated that she had to reside in Elizabeth House, and we did not see her at the Barn again.

We send our condolences to her friends and relatives. Although her absence abroad meant she was not well known to the current members, she played a significant role in the local dramatic scene. Friendly and knowledgeable, Ann was a good friend and efficient and reliable in her chosen roles with the companies with which she was involved.