People M
Troy Kennedy Martin. b 1932
In 1962 Troy was living at Wood Street Village Green when he first thought up the idea for the Police Drama Series ‘Z-Cars’. This attracted an audience of 14 million viewers within two months of starting up. The series lasted until 1978, 667 episodes and included James Ellis, Colin Welland, Brian Blessed, Leonard Rossiter, Stratfor Johns, Frank Windsor & Joeseph Brady. It’s success was based on an enormous change to police series of the time ( from Dock Geen). These were hard drinking, gambling, northern coppers based in New Town ( Kirby in Liverpool).
Troy was born in Rothesay Studied History at Trinity College Dublin. His other successes were, The screen play for the Hollywood ‘The Italian Job’ in 1969 for which he received $100,000. This was followed by Kelly’s Heros. 1970 & the Edge of Darkness, 1985. His younger brother Ian Kennedy Martin created ‘The Sweeney’.
Troy Kennedy Martin
John Maynard b 1930.
John arrived in Wood Street in 1940 aged 10. Their home in London had been badly damaged by German bombing raids. With relations in Stoughton, his mother managed to find a cottage on the village green. He attended the village school where Mr Goddard was headmaster. With miss Barnes as deputy. From Mr Goddard he inherited a love of poetry starting with Rudyard Kipling. He also liked amateur dramatics. In 1942 Mr Goddard raised funds for the war effort by putting on a ‘Minstrel Show’ in the village hall. Rev Bill Langdon was organising it. They played football & cricket on the village green & went over the railway finding primroses, primulas, bluebells & wild strawberries. Bill Langdon was young & newly ordained, & started the 1st Wood Street Sea Scouts, four miles from a river & thirty miles from the sea. They had a boat on the river Wey at Guildford, being allowed on the boat once they could swim a length at Guildford Lido. In 1948 John joined the military, graduating to the Special Investigations Branch & posted to Triest. He married in 1953. His second son, Chris Maynard, became a cricketer of note playing for Warwickshire & Lancashire as batsman, wicket keeper. John moved to South Africa in 1981.
John Maynard Concert 1945
John Maynard Rignt with Peter Harris Left