Ballard Berkeley was an English actor of stage and screen. He played Major Gowen in the British television sitcom Fawlty Towers.
The son of Joseph and Beatrice Blascheck, he was born in Margate, Kent. He served as a Special Constable with the Metropolitan Police during World War II, witnessing the Blitz at first hand. For this service he received the Defence Medal and the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal.
Source: Wikipedia