I knew this wonderful man as Great Uncle Jack, but everyone else except his family called him John. Born in Leicester in 1916, he was drawn to all things theatrical from an early age, making puppet theatres from old wooden boxes, with lavish stage curtains crafted from odds and ends in his Mother's needlework bag. By the time he was 17, the bright lights of London were calling, and he arrived in the city full of hopes and dreams. Small acting parts in travelling repertory companies followed, but the scenery and props held more fascination for this young man, and soon he was gaining experience in this field, as well as making the tea! The theatrical world was warm and accepting for this gay young man, and London became his home until his death in 2000. Over the coming years he worked his way up to Assistant Stage Manager, and found his skills to be very advantageous when he was conscripted into the army during the Second World War. Whilst many poor young men were fighting on the front lines, John was putting on colourful shows for his comrades and officers as part of the Entertainment Corps (ENSA) in Germany. He later told me that he'd had "a very good war", entertaining both the troops and many handsome young soldiers of similar sexuality! On his return to London, he continued to progress in the world of theatre, and by the time the West End was putting on high-budget musical extravaganzas in the 60's and 70's, John Cleaver was a much sought-after Stage Manager, respected by Producers and Directors. He worked on all the big shows:- The Sound of Music, Charlie Girl, Mame, Hey Dolly, The Black and White Minstrels, Sunday Night at the London Palladium and many more. Ginger Rogers, Dame Anna Neagle, Joe Brown, Shirley Bassey, Derek Nimmo and others all trusted him to provide them with the most lavish sets on which to perform. As a child, I loved to visit his flat in Bayswater as it, too, was crafted to reflect different and ever-changing styles and I'd seen not come across a home like that on our council estate in Leicester! Visits there as an adult were no less exciting - fabulous, interesting items and bric-a-brac all contributed to the eclectic, exotic atmosphere and he was a wonderful host who provided copious amounts of food, booze and scandalous gossip in equal proportions! Life was good, but it hadn't been without its hard times too - he was imprisoned in the late 1950's when homosexuality was still illegal, and as he'd never felt able to come out to his very conservative and highly religious family, he bore those months without their knowledge or support. He told me this had been a very low time for him. John never settled with a long-term partner, choosing instead to "live my life to the full" as he put it! He and his contemporaries had never had to think about sexually transmitted infections, and were slow to act in the wake of the new health alerts in the early 80's. Over the following couple of decades, he lost many friends and colleagues to HIV/AIDS, but was extremely lucky to remain healthy himself, and lived to be 84. I'm sure that he would have been very supportive of THT, and thrilled to have this page set up in both his memory, and that of all the friends he lost.