Kenneth Lindsay was closely involved with MRA's Westminster Theatre in London through much of its history. He was Licensee of the Westminster Theatre from 1947 until the abolition of the Lord Chamberlain’s licensing system in 1968. He remained a member of the Society of West End Theatre Managers (now, 2001, the Society of London Theatre) until 1978. Still remembered for his wise counsel, he was a long-serving Chairman of the Society’s Finance Committee and was a member of the team negotiating with NATTKE, as the theatre technicians union was then known.
James Kenneth Lindsay was born in Edinburgh on 23 April 1906. His father was the owner of the Lindsay Cooperage at Canonmills. After Edinburgh Academy and Edinburgh University, where he switched from chemistry to business studies and obtained a B. Com. degree, Kenneth joined the family firm and remained with it until its sale at the time of World War II. The jazz saxophone, flying and photography were among his youthful passions.
At the outbreak of World War II Kenneth went to do war work at Ferranti. He then decided to dedicate his time to the work of The Oxford Group and its programme of Moral Re-Armament, which had caught his imagination at University. Moving to London, Kenneth was involved in the purchase of the Westminster Theatre by the Westminster Memorial Trust on behalf of MRA in 1946, and the following year became its Licensee. In 1947 Kenneth married Wisteria Jolly.
Ken, Wisty and family returned to Edinburgh in 1962, making frequent trips to London on theatre business. Wisty died of cancer in 1992 and they are survived by their two daughters, Katrine and Jane.
by Hugh Williams
English
