Page 242 - They Also Served

Returning home, he was demobbed and learned that Ealing had signed him up for a role in the POW drama Captive Heart – so returned to Germany, and another prison camp, for the duration of filming. A lead in Nicholas Nickleby and as the doomed Captain Oates in Scott of the Antarctic followed, then parts in another 30 films. He also appeared on stage and in television classics such as Dad’s Army and Callan until 1998, after which his war wound made him unsteady on his feet. Despite his matinee idol looks, Bond was never more than a supporting player but found a late outlet for his talents when he became president of the trade union Equity from 1984 to 1986. As a Conservative in a traditional left-leaning union, he opposed the UN cultural boycott of South Africa. Derek Bond MC, actor and trade unionist, died on 15th October 2006.
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