Buster Merryfield: The Bank Manager Who Became Uncle Albert

Most people spend their sixties winding down. Buster Merryfield spent his becoming a sitcom legend. A retired bank manager with no professional acting experience, he walked onto the set of Only Fools and Horses at age 64 and turned Uncle Albert into one of Britain’s most beloved television characters — all while keeping his wartime service in the Royal Navy mostly to himself. Here’s how Harry “Buster” Merryfield traded ledgers for laughs.

Full name: Harry “Buster” Merryfield ·
Born: 27 November 1920 ·
Died: 23 June 1999 (aged 78) ·
Best known role: Uncle Albert in Only Fools and Horses ·
Previous career: Bank manager at NatWest ·
Years active as actor: 1978–1999

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts

Born 27 November 1920 in London (Wikipedia (the collaborative online encyclopedia))
Worked as a bank manager at NatWest (IMDb (the film and TV database))
Played Uncle Albert in 38 episodes of Only Fools and Horses (Wikipedia)
Died from a brain tumor on 23 June 1999 (Wikipedia)

2What’s unclear

Whether he saw combat beyond convoy duty in the North Atlantic (Wikipedia)
Exact number of minor TV and film appearances before 1985 (
Additional sources

financeuk.uk