The ABF today

Since the year 2000 the Fund has been proud to have as its patron His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, maintaining a tradition of royal patronage that began in 1931 with the then Prince of Wales, who was succeeded in turn by HM King George VI (1937-1953), and HM Queen Elizabeth II (1954-1999).

The Presidents following Sir Henry Irving have been Sir Charles Wyndham (1905-1919), Lady Wyndham, the actress Mary Moore (1919-1929), Sir Gerald du Maurier (1930-1933), Charles B. Cochran (1934-1939), Sir John Gielgud (1940-1953), Lord Olivier (1954-1989), and, since 1990, Penelope Keith, CBE.

A General Secretary, salaried staff, and a Council meeting monthly to consider the cases of applicants, manage the Fund. The Council is composed of the President, Vice-Presidents, and sixteen committee members, usually eight males and eight females, all of whom are volunteers receiving no remuneration. The Council members are also trustees of the charity, and are drawn from a broad spectrum of the profession. Beneficiaries come to the notice of the Fund from many sources: personal recommendations from other actors, doctors, social workers, and from fellow charities.

Each case is discussed and assessed at length at the monthly meetings of the Council, and the General Secretary is instructed to act as necessary. There are those who will need aid only once, and others to whom it will be given long-term. Though the Fund receives no Government subsidy, it has been able to help many in need to claim their appropriate social security entitlements. Whenever possible, beneficiaries receive visits from members of staff or from Council members. This is an important personal connection for beneficiaries, which not only improves the quality of their care, but helps to give a feeling that they are still part of the community of actors - still part of a family.

Although the most illustrious theatrical names of the 19th and 20th centuries appear in the lists of subscribers to the Fund, it is immensely moving to read the names of the thousands of ordinary members, actors now forgotten or remembered by only a few, who have come together over the years with a common purpose - to help those of their colleagues less fortunate than themselves.

The acting profession has grown in numbers enormously since the days of the Fund’s inception, and the need for help has increased in proportion. For as long as actors need that help, no matter how “distressed or decayed”, the Actors’ Benevolent Fund will be there for them.