[2] Lestocq shot to fame as Flying Officer Kyte in the BBC radio wartime comedy Merry-Go-Round (1944–1948), which later evolved into Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh.

[3] He was also the presenter of the TV series Whirligig, the first Saturday children's programme to be broadcast live from the BBC's Lime Grove Studios.

[4][5] He was born Humphrey Lestocq Gilbert on 23 January 1919 in Chiswick, London, England.

His parents were George Marx Gilbert and May Frances née Wooldridge, married 1911 in Brentford (Chiswick).

After retiring from acting, he ran a fishing fleet from Rye Harbour, East Sussex.