My cousin Charles Weatherley Wall, who has died aged 91 of a chest infection, was a lifelong philanthropist, and the eponymous founder of the Wall Trust, a charity that supports exceptionally talented students in the performing arts who, without financial aid, might not be able to realise their potential.
He was born in Liverpool to Vera (nee Potter) and Bob (Robert) Wall, whose marriage in 1921 had linked two prominent Tate & Lyle families. In 1919 Charles’s grandfather Col RF Wall had returned from Gallipoli to be put in charge of the sugar refinery in London, while Charles Potter was the head of the Liverpool works, where Bob was to become assistant manager. Vera served as a nurse during the two world wars.
Following Shrewsbury school, which he supported in later life, Charles spent his national service in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He subsequently trained as a chartered accountant with Cooper Brothers (now PWC) and then Deloitte. Later on he had several financial directorships in industry, forming his own firm, Wall & Co, and was latterly a partner at FW Stephens.
I remember the day in 1985 when he took early retirement from that company. Arriving for lunch with a wider-than-ever smile, he told me that rather than leaving only a posthumous legacy for dance, drama or music, he had just set up a living legacy for talented youngsters. He spent 30 years as chairman of the Wall Trust.
Now, 35 years on, more than 300 Wall scholars have benefited from that decision. Charles took a close interest in each scholar, from holding auditions and monitoring their annual progress through college to attending their professional performances. I recall warmly that if Wall Trust alumni were on tour in my home town he would delight in asking me to meet them.
Most Wall scholars have gone on to fulfil their dreams, including actors Daniel Mays, O-T Fagbenle and Bertie Carvel; dancers Thomas Edwards, Stephen Murray and Hannah O’Brien; musicians Ruby Hughes (soprano), Lara Melda (piano), Yevgeny Sudbin (piano) and Clara Andrada (flute). Sir Kenneth Branagh is the current patron of the trust.
Predeceased by his brother, Graham, in 2020, Charles had no close family. He is survived by his cousins, Anne, Gaye and me.
