Page 305 - They Also Served

149
Christopher Trace 1953.
Born on 21st March 1933 at Hambledon, Surrey, Christopher Leonard Trace was educated at Cranleigh School and worked as a farm labourer before entering Sandhurst in 1951. Commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1953, he was promoted to lieutenant before resigning his commission in 1956. A somewhat undistinguished acting career followed, with his greatest role being Charlton Heston’s body double in the Hollywood epic Ben-Hur.
Meanwhile, however, Trace was selected to co-present, with former Miss Great Britain Leila Williams, a children’s television programme called Blue Peter, which first aired on 16th October 1958. Aimed originally at five to eight-year-olds, the programme reflected the attitudes of the day, with Trace, dressed in a jacket and tie, building model trains and Williams playing with dolls. The programmes were transmitted live, which required learning a script and remaining unflappable. On one occasion, Trace continued as if nothing was happening while a lion-cub savaged its keeper in the background and all the production crew fled. He was, however, criticised for giving out a recipe for alcoholic ginger beer. Williams was replaced after three years
299