A member of the ‘Save the Victoria Theatre Salford’ committee, Ray Walker, has died, following a battle with Dementia.
Ray died early last Friday (Friday 9 December), after a battle with a Dementia.
The last few years have seen Mr Walker heavily support the ‘Save the Save Victoria Theatre’ project in Salford, after beginning his career in Stage Management there as a teenager.
At the age of 13, Ray became an Apprentice in Stage Management at the Theatre, before moving to London to work in Stage and Set Design. During his time in the city, he worked for names such as Bernard Delfont.
Fellow ‘Save the Save Victoria Theatre’ member, and friend of Ray, Allen said: “If you’re in the theatre, London is the only place, really.
“Ray worked right up until his retirement in stage and theatre. He did exhibitions, but he always did stage management, anything that required scenery. He was very well thought of in the profession.
“Above all, he was an absolute gentleman.”
It wasn’t until Allen and Ray were retired that they reunited. He continued: “It wasn’t until he retired and returned home to Manchester that I saw him, when he came to one of the ‘Save the Save Victoria Theatre’ meetings. We started up together, it was quite a full circle for us.
“When we became Directors of the Salford Victoria Theatre Trust, his knowledge of the building and how it operated was phenomenal.
“Its a sad passing and we will miss him terribly. His circle of friends, and his partner, Peter, will miss him.
Sam Kelly, Chairwoman of Save the Victoria Theatre said: “Ray loved the theatre, he had a ball. He was really enthusiastic about saving the theatre and did whatever he could.
“Before the pandemic we’d started getting into the local community more and Ray was good for that. For people who need that stimulus, the lockdowns did a vast injustice.”
Ray felt strongly about bringing the Victoria Theatre back to life, and bringing it back to its former glory. Sam continued: “He was big for getting the stage lantern back and turned on, which I think was code for ‘let’s get the theatre going’.”
The committee plan to engrave the stage lantern with Ray’s name, in memory of his dedication to the theatre and local community.
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