Stanley Unwin's family thrilled by his blue plaque

The daughter of late comedian, broadcaster and nonsense-language inventor Stanley Unwin said the family was "absolutely thrilled" by a blue plaque unveiled in his name.

It was installed by West Northamptonshire Council outside his old bungalow on Long Buckby's High Street.

Unwin began his career at the BBC War Reporting Unit in Daventry in 1940, before becoming a popular figure across British television, radio and film with his unique comic language "Unwinese".

His daughter, Lois Johnston, said of the plaque: "He loved people and it's the sort of thing that should happen to people like him."

She added that she was "absolutely thrilled, and so is the whole family".

Johnston remembered being delighted by Unwin's use of the zany vocabulary he developed to comedically enliven his stories.

It was a skill that helped him find fame on radio, and later TV, in the 1940s and 1950s.

• Stanley Unwin: Master of nonsense

She said while Unwin spent a lot of time working away, "it was always a great joy" when he came home.

"He just got stuck in straight away," Johnston recalled.

"He loved children, [he] was always keen to tell stories - and he made up the most wonderful stories."

Unwin also starred in films, with roles include the chancellor in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the landlord in Carry On Regardless.

"Seeing him on film was very exciting for us," added Johnston, who was one of Unwin's three children.

Her father's last TV appearance was in 1998 as the voice of Mr Wangle on BBC animated show Rex the Runt.

He died aged 90 in 2002.

Johnston remembered him as "a lovely person" who excited everybody in his presence.

"He was just our dad and we didn't really think anymore than that," she said.

"He was just part of our growing up and we were very pleased to have him."

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