Bloomsbury

Coordinates: 51°31′34″N 0°07′04″W / 51.5262°N 0.1178°W / 51.5262; -0.1178

Bloomsbury is an area of the London Borough of Camden, in central London, between Euston Road and Holborn, developed by the Russell family in the 17th and 18th centuries into a fashionable residential area. It is notable for its array of garden squares, literary connections (exemplified by the Bloomsbury Group), and numerous cultural, educational and health-care institutions. Although Bloomsbury was not the first area of London to have acquired a formal square, Bloomsbury Square, laid out in 1660 by Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, as Southampton Square was the first square to be named as such.

Bloomsbury is home to the University of London's central bodies and departments, including the Senate House Library and School of Advanced Study, and to several of its colleges, including University College London, the Institute of Education (IOE),Birkbeck, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the SOAS, University of London. It is also home to the University of Law and New College of the Humanities. The numerous health-care institutions located in Bloomsbury include the British Medical Association, Great Ormond Street Hospital, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College Hospital and the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine. London Contemporary Dance School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and are also located in the area.

Kenneth Williams

Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English comic actor and comedian.

He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Carry On films, and appeared in many British television shows and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.

Life and career

Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February 1926 in Bingfield Street, King's Cross, London, the son of Louisa ("Lou" or "Louie") Morgan (1901-1991) and Charles Williams (1899-1962), a barber and strict Methodist from Somers Town, London. Kenneth Williams stated in his diaries that he believed he had Welsh ancestors due to his parents' surnames. Williams had a half-sister, Alice Patricia "Pat", born illegitimately before Louie had met Charlie Williams. He was educated at Lyulph Stanley School, later becoming apprenticed as a draughtsman to a mapmaker. In 1944, aged 18, he was called up to the Army. He became a sapper in the Engineers Survey section, doing much the same work that he did as a civilian. When the war ended he was in Singapore, and he opted to transfer to the Combined Service Entertainment Unit, which put on revue shows. While in that unit he met Stanley Baxter, Peter Nichols, and John Schlesinger.