Peter West(1920-2003)

Peter West was one of the most versatile journalists of his generation. As a freelancer, he worked for the BBC in radio and television for forty years in every department, except Drama. He covered BBC cricket for 35 summers, rugby union for forty winters, 27 Wimbledon tennis tournaments and various other broadcasting assignments, including the long-running "Come Dancing". He was a cricket and rugby union correspondent for "The Times" and "The Daily Telegraph" for a number of years. He was the founding editor of "The Playfair Cricket Annual" from 1948 to 1953 and was the first President of the Cheltenham Cricket Society. He was a genial anchorman for the BBC's televised Test Cricket coverage, during the seventies and eighties. While doing this, he formed a successful partnership with Ted Dexter and others. He co-founded a successful public relations consultancy, called 'West McNally'. Upon his retirement, he published his autobiography, "Flannelled Fool and Muddied Oaf", which reflected his great love of cricket and rugger. He was educated at Cranbrook School and kept a lifelong interest by becoming involved in various 'old boy' organisations. He was a devoted family man and gardener. He had been married to Pauline for 57 years, when he died in Bath on 2nd September 2003, following a long illness. The couple had two sons, a daughter and several grandchildren.