Her acting debut – on radio and TV – came in the 1950s and, at the age of 82, she is still entertaining audiences with her regular appearances in the long-running comedy series, Last of The Summer Wine.

Now a link has been discovered between June Whitfield, Calderdale and one of Halifax's most famous inhabitants.

"It is a link that connects Anne Lister, of Shibden Hall, and her companion, Ann Walker, with a modern actress. And along the way we come across Sir Titus Salt, the philanthropist and creator of the Yorkshire model village, Saltaire," says historian and genealogist David Glover, who has uncovered the link.

David, publications officer for Halifax Antiquarian Society, says it was while he was looking into the family history of the Walkers of Lightcliffe – and their heirs, the Sutherlands – that he came across the connection.

"I was tracing forward and that was what made it more interesting because once the Sutherland family (or Sutherland-Walker family as they were to become known) moved to Scotland, little was documented about them locally.

"I read at some time that there was a connection with June Whitfield's husband and the Sutherland family and so I set about researching it. Finding there was a link back to Calderdale was great fun," he says.

David has discovered that the actress, born in Streatham, London, in 1925, is linked to the area through her late husband, Timothy Aitchison, whom she married in 1955 and who died in 2001.

Timothy was the second son of Commander John Aitchison and his wife, Eveline Sutherland.

His grandmother was Ethel Mary Garrard (from the famous London jewellers' family) and his grandfather was William Tudor Sutherland-Walker, of Essex.

Timothy's great-grandfather was Evan Charles Sutherland-Walker. Evan, the eldest son of Captain George Mackay Sutherland and his wife Elizabeth Walker, was Scottish but came to the Lightcliffe area after inheriting the estates of Cliff Hill and Crow Nest, which had belonged to his aunt, Ann Walker.

The connection is made to Anne Lister because Ann Walker was her partner.

Eventually Evan, the founder of Lightcliffe National School in 1866, sold the Lightcliffe estates, deciding that he wanted to become a Scottish laird like his father and so he moved his family to Skibo Castle in Sutherland.

"There is also a connection with Sir Titus Salt because when Evan inherited Crow Nest he gave the tenant notice to quit and that tenant was Sir Titus," says David.

He reveals that he has written to the actress to inform her of her Calderdale connections – and in the hope she might visit the area.
"She is such a well-loved actress and the kind of person everyone would love to have as their grandmother. It's nice to think she has a connection to the area," he says.

"The link, which has not been uncovered before, seems all the more relevant because of the 50th anniversary of the Carry On films – some of which she starred in."

June Whitfield's first big break was a lead role in the radio comedy Take It From Here. Her first TV sitcom role was in Beggar My Neighbour but she became a household name thanks to Happy After Ever and Terry and June, in which she starred with fellow Carry On actor Terry Scott.

She played Meg in Carry On Nurse, released in 1959; Evelyn Blunt in Carry On Abroad in 1972; Augusta Prodworthy in Carry On Girls in 1973; and Queen Isabella in the last film of the series, Carry On Columbus in 1992.

Carry On fact file

• The films were the brainchild of Peter Rogers


• There were 29 original films and one compilation film made between 1958 and 1978 at Pinewood Studios


• Regular faces included Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey, Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Hattie Jacques and Bernard Bresslaw


• Despite being an audience favourite and one of the best known Carry On stars, actress Barbara Windsor only appeared in nine films


• The very first film was Carry On Sergeant, screened for the first time on August 1, 1958


• Carry on Cruising was the first colour version in 1962


• Carry On Cleo, in 1964, used costumes and sets from the Burton and Taylor epic Cleopatra


• Carry on Cleo contained the immortal words: "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me", spoken by Kenneth Williams as Julius Caesar and voted the funniest comedy movie line ever