A primary school teacher whose Christmas comedy performances were the stuff of legend has died aged 89. Ralph Brackenbury inspired a generation of children at Woodlands Middle School, Bradwell, with his passion and enthusiasm, channelling his love for comedy and performance into his "stand-up" role in front of a class. His daughter Hannah Brackenbury said his Cecil the Caterpillar sketch was a hardy annual that delighted pupils, shrieks of laughter and joy rising up from the school hall.