Charles Chilton, who originated the satirical musical, Oh! What a Lovely War (1963), has died at the age of 95.

It started out as a radio play and was then staged at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, before becoming a star-studded film, directed by Richard Attenborough.

Chilton also wrote and produced the radio science fiction adventure, Journey into Space (1953 – 58), which recounted man’s conquest of the moon four years before it happened. It was the last radio drama to attract a bigger audience than any television production.

A full obituary will appear in a future print edition of The Stage.