| John Counsell | |
| Honorific Suffix: | OBE |
| Birth Date: | 24 April 1905 |
| Birth Place: | Beckenham, London, England |
| Death Place: | United Kingdom |
| Occupation: | Theatre director, actor, theatre manager |
John William Counsell (24 April 1905 – 23 February 1987)[1] [2] was an English actor, director and theatre manager, who (with his wife Mary Kerridge) ran the Theatre Royal, Windsor and its in-house repertory company from the 1930s to the 1980s. His daughter is the actress Elizabeth Counsell, and he was uncle to the actress and painter Jean Miller.[3] Born in Beckenham, to Claud Counsell and Evelyn Fleming, the bulk of Counsell's career was spent in Windsor repertory theatre and the West End stage.[4]
He was the author of the German Instrument of Surrender document signed on 7 May 1945 which he wrote when he served as a colonel in the British Army during World War 2.[5]
In 1930, Counsell served as an apprentice at the Theatre Royal in Windsor, Berkshire, when it reopened as a theatre after a short time as a cinema. In 1933, he took over managing the theatre; the venture lasted only a few months before it went bankrupt, but the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth attended one of the last performances, coming from nearby Windsor Castle.[6] Counsell re-opened the theatre in 1938[7] and was able to establish a viable company that ran without government subsidies.[6] He and his actress wife Mary Kerridge ran the theatre until his retirement in 1986, the year before his death.[8]
John William Counsell was awarded the OBE in 1975 for services to the Theatre Royal in Windsor.[9]