Who’d have thought it? Time traveller’s local link

A Doctor Who legend who will be a VIP guest as Erewash Museum stages a sci-fi day dedicated to the Time Lord has close ties to the borough, it has been revealed.

TV’s Sophie Aldred will be joined by Daleks and the TARDIS on Saturday 10th May as she tells of her time playing Ace – the companion of seventh doctor Sylvester McCoy.

The London-born actress’s late grandfather – a decorated World War Two hero – ran Robinsons Solicitors, which used to overlook Ilkeston Market Place.

Paul Robinson was a British Army major who survived brutal conditions after being taken prisoner in the Far East.

While he was held captive his wife Hope Robinson – the actress’s gran – never gave up believing she would see him again. She interviewed a soldier who escaped from the same harsh camp – and wrote a pamphlet describing how PoWs were managing to maintain “excellent” morale.

The Sunday Express printed details – which turned the mum into a figurehead for families desperate for news of loved ones. More than 5,000 letters asking for copies of the pamphlet arrived at her Ilkeston home.

Thousands were donated to the museum after Hope’s daughter Penny Aldred, who is Sophie’s mum, found them in an attic. They were used in an exhibition called Letters of Hope.

Penny told the BBC in an interview how she ran to meet her father when he finally returned home after the Japanese surrendered in September 1945. She said: “He caught me up in his arms. Although he was very thin...he went back to the office straight away.”

Major Robinson died in 1997 aged 87. His wife was 93 when she passed away in 2008.

Museum tickets to “panel talks” about Doctor Who – which will feature the couple’s granddaughter Sophie – are £10. They can be bought by calling 0115 907 1141 or emailing museum @ erewash.gov.uk

General entry to an extravaganza that is being billed as “A Time-Travelling Exploration” is £5 – with free admission for under-12s.

Erewash Borough Council deputy leader Becca Everett, who is Lead Member for Community Engagement, said: “The new series of Doctor Who has gripped BBC1 viewers. As a fan myself it is fantastic that Erewash Museum has lined up this treat. Sophie’s links to the borough make the event even more fascinating.”

Erewash Museum welcomes some 20,000 people a year. It is normally open from 11am to 4pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays – and is free to visit. Refreshments are available at its Dalby House Café.