Ronald (Bunny) Hare
RMDS President 1973-2002

The Society has had many long serving members over the years with several well-known Ringwood families taking prominent parts on the stage and in administration. The current RMDS President is Ronald N. (Bunny) Hare, who has been connected with the Society since 1927. He was born in Broadstairs in Kent in 1905 the son of a tailor. The family moved to the South Coast of Hampshire in 1910. At 17 Bunny began his career with Lloyds Bank when he started work in Lymington. In 1926 he was moved to Fordingbridge where he lived with the King family.

Mr King was a member of the RMDS and Bunny used to go with him to rehearsals. That was the beginning of his long association with the Society. During the subsequent rehearsals and shows he met Dorice, a member of the local Frampton family. In 1931 the Bank moved him again, this time to the Ringwood Branch, and in 1932 he married Dorice and set up house in College Road. His professional career progressed in the Bank and his family grew with the births of Rosemary, Sonya and Stephen.

During the war Bunny spent time in a shore base in Scotland and in the Mediterranean on anti-submarine defence sup-plies. The war over, he returned to Ringwood to resume his banking career. But in 1955 Eldridge and Pope were looking for someone to take over the tenancy of the Crown Hotel at Fridays Cross in Ringwood. During a conversation over a pint in the Crown, Mr Pope suggested that Bunny and Dorice should take it on. Knowing the potential of the busi-ness, they had a discussion at home and decided to accept the challenge. After a successful 10-year period, Bunny then bought the Red Shoot Inn at Linwood from Mr Palmer and in 1969 the Elm Tree farm house, both of which were later run by family members. All this happened after his so called retirement from the Crown.

The RMDS has taken up a lot of his spare time throughout his life. He was on the Committee for cast selection from 1933 to 1991 and has seen and selected many of the local stars. He has played many parts himself including the role of Admiral Joseph Porter in 'HMS Pinafore' in 1939, Hans in 'Good Night Vienna' in 1954 and Sir Jasper Tring in 'Me and My Girl' in 1960. He has pleasant memories of his first show in 1927, 'Les Cloches de Comeville', when his relatively diminutive stature was matched with the large, well-proportioned Dot Lucas. He also vividly recalls many visits, between scenes at the Cinema, to the White Hart Hotel, which was conveniently situated next door !

Bunny has been President of the RMDS for twenty-five years. He has seen many, many productions and lots of actors, producers and backstage crews come and go, but the Society has always continued to thrive. In February 1996, Bunny was very happy to be present at the installation of a new tiered seating system in the Ringwood School. This was almost a return to the days at the Cinema when every audience member had a good view of the stage. It has transformed the school hall into a proper little theatre. Bunny pronounced that it was a great improvement and a credit to the Society's endeavours. He declared that he felt it was a particular highlight in his long presidency.