Lane Hotel, London; this was compered by Russ Abbott, and the subsequent charity auction was conducted by Jeffrey Archer. Leading the tributes was Jean Kent, who had co-starred with Sinden in Bernard Delfont's 1951 stage production of Froufrou; letters from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Albert of Monaco were read out, and speeches given by Julian Fellowes, Ray Cooney and Gyles Brandreth. Sinden received, posthumously, the Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts at the Guildhall, London, during the 2014 Theatre Awards UK ceremony held on 19 October. The award was collected on his behalf by his son, Marc Sinden. Personal life Sinden was married to the actress Diana Mahony from 3 May 1948 until her death from stomach cancer aged 77 on 22 September 2004. The couple had two sons: actor Jeremy Sinden (1950-1996) who died of lung cancer, and actor & filmmaker Marc Sinden (born 1954). Sinden had four grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Sinden was colour blind and suffered from asthma, which prevented him from joining the armed forces during the Second World War and suffered from negative buoyancy, meaning that he was unable to float or swim in water, which was discovered while filming The Cruel Sea when the ship was sinking. Co-star Jack Hawkins saved him from drowning in the open-air water-tank at Denham Studios. According to his second autobiography, while investigating his family genealogy he discovered that the only previous relatives who were also members of the theatrical profession were the Victorian brother and sister act of Bert and Topsy Sinden, who were distant cousins. Topsy achieved "some fame as a 'skirt dancer' and première danseuse at the Empire Theatre of Varieties in Leicester Square." Death and memorials Sinden died at his home in Wittersham on the Isle of Oxney, Kent, on 12 September 2014, aged 90, from prostate cancer diagnosed several years earlier. Speaking at his funeral, held on 19 September at St John the Baptist Church, Wittersham, were his grandson Hal Sinden, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Patrick Stewart. The eulogy was read by Lord Archer. An honorary life member and trustee of the Garrick Club in London, which he joined in 1960, Sinden was cremated in a coffin painted in the club's 'salmon and cucumber' colours. The lights on the marquees of the West End's theatres were dimmed in his honour, in the traditional mark of respect to theatre's most notable