Spike Milligan (1918-2002)

Death: 27th February 2002
Location: Church of St. Thomas the Martyr, Winchelsea, East Sussex, England
Cause of death: Liver Failure
Photo taken by: Clive and Chris
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Comedian and writer, best remembered for his role in the Goon Show. Spike was the main writer of the Goon Show, which was the inspiration for many other performers, including those who went on to form Monty Python's Flying Circus. Having to produce a script each week took its toll and his health was adversely affected. He suffered from bipolar disorder and had several breakdowns during his life.
As well as his work as a comedian he is also remembered for writing nonsense verse for children, which has been compared to that of Lewis Carroll. He also wrote several war memoirs including Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall and Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall. 
He had requested that his headstone bore the epitaph ‘I told you I was ill’ but this request was refused by the church so as a compromise the epitaph was carved in Irish - ‘Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite’.

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