Wot Cheor, Geordie!

Esther McCracken was born Esther Helen Armstrong in Newcastle on 25th June 1902. She was educated at Central Newcastle High School (now Newcastle High School for Girls), where she was a regular winner of the annual cricket ball throwing competition. In time she would prove herself in the fields of acting, broadcasting and, most notably, as a playwright.

Described as small and full of spirit, she performed with the Newcastle Repertory Company up to 1937. Over time she began writing plays, too, with her first effort being The Willing Spirit in 1936. Her 1938 play, Quiet Wedding, brought her national fame and a move to London, and was even made into a film in 1941 and again in 1958 (as Happy Is the Bride). A sequel, Quiet Weekend, written in 1941, proved a huge success, being performed over 1,000 times in the capital (and was also made into a film). She began, essentially, in comedy, before moving onto more serious material later in her career, including Living Room in 1943, No Medals in 1944, and Cry Liberty in 1950.

In the meantime, Esther married a famous rugby player and accountant, Angus McCracken, in 1936 – though he was killed in action in 1943. In 1944, she married again, to shipping magnate Mungo Campbell. She became even more widely known when she introduced the well-known BBC radio show Wot Cheor, Geordie, which ran throughout the 1940s and ’50s. 

She is chiefly remembered locally for her help in setting up Newcastle University’s theatre (now Northern Stage) and the city’s charity hub/HQ, MEA House – the name of the latter coming from the initials of the christian names of her husband (M), herself (E) and their solicitor colleague Alistair Fyfe (A) (the three being responsible for the setting up of the fund to finance the building). The multi-storey building in Ellison Place was the first British building purpose-built to house a range of voluntary services. Opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974, it still provides to this day office accommodation for registered charities at rents below market rate.

Esther McCracken died in London in August 1971, aged 69. Interestingly, her granddaughter, Imogen Stubbs, who was born in Rothbury in 1961, has also become a famous writer and actress.

[article taken from The Great North-East: An English History Tour, vol.2 - see left-hand column]