Eric Clare Midwinter OBE, (born February 1932) is an English author, broadcaster and academic. He is a

consumer advocate Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

, a social policy analyst, a historian of the sport of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and an expert on British comedy.

Life and career

Eric Midwinter was born in Sale,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, in 1932, and was educated at a local grammar school and

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

, where he read history. Between 1968 and 1971 he led the team for action research in the Liverpool Education Priority Area. Between 1972 and 1975, as Principal of the Liverpool Teachers’ Centre, he established an organisational structure capable of delivering continuing professional development to all teachers in Liverpool. He was Chairman of the London Regional Passengers Committee, the government-appointed watchdog for public transport, from 1984 to 1996. He was Director of the Centre for Policy on Ageing from 1980 to 1991, when the centre was developing its role as a policy institute, and is now its chairman. He was Visiting Professor of Education at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

from 1992 to 2001. A

social historian Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...

and social policy analyst, he is a co-founder of the

University of the Third Age The University of the Third Age (U3A) is an international movement whose aims are the education and stimulation of mainly retired members of the community—those in their third 'age' of life. There is no universally accepted model for the U3A. I ...

and has been consultant to the Millennium Debate of the Age project and to the International Longevity Centre UK. He has been Chairman of the Health and Social Welfare Board of the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

, which awarded to him an Honorary Doctorate, and he was a member of the Carnegie Inquiry into the Third Age Committee. He was also a member of the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for Disabled and Elderly People and, for five years, a member of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

Advisory Group on Disability. He completed a European Commission study, under the auspices of

Age Concern Age Concern is the banner title used by a number of Charitable organization, charitable organizations (NGOs) specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people (defined as those over the age of 50) based chiefly in the four cou ...

England, into the feasibility of a Senior Euro-pass. Until 2008, he was Chairman of the Community Education Development Centre,

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. A cricket historian, he was for seven years President of the

Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Stati ...

, and is a biographer of

W.G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...

. Midwinter won The Cricket Society/MCC Book of the Year award in 2005 for ''Red Shirts and Roses'', and the ''Wisden'' Book of the Year award in 2011 for ''The Cricketer's Progress: Meadowland to Mumbai''. He was for several years editor of the '' MCC Annual'', and he has prepared many notices of the lives of cricketers and comedians for the old and new ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. He is also an expert on

British comedy Throughout film, television, and radio, British comedy has become known for its consistently peculiar characters, plots, and settings, and has produced some of the most renowned comedians and characters in the world. History British comedy history ...

, through, for instance, his books ''Make 'em Laugh: Famous Comedians and their Worlds'' and ''The People's Jesters; British Comedians in the 20th Century''. He and his wife Margaret live in

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

Bibliography

* ''Social Administration in Lancashire, 1830–60: Poor Law, Public Health and Police'' (1966) * ''Law and Order in Early Victorian Lancashire'' (1968) * ''Victorian Social Reform'' (1968) * ''Nineteenth Century Education'' (1970) * ''Old Liverpool'' (1971) * ''Priority Education: An Account of the Liverpool Project'' (1972) * ''Projections and Social Environment and the Urban School'' (1972) * ''Patterns of Community Education'' (1973) * ''Preschool Priorities'' (1974) * ''Education and the Community'' (1975) * ''Education for Sale'' (1977) * ''Make 'em Laugh: Famous Comedians and Their Worlds'' (1979) * ''Schools in Society: The Evolution of English Education'' (1980) * ''

: His Life and Times'' (1981) * ''Age is Opportunity: Education and Older People'' (1982) * ''Ten Million People'' (1982) * ''Mutual Aid Universities'' (1984) * ''The Wage of Retirement: The Case for a New Pensions Policy'' (1985) * ''Fair Game: Myth and Reality in Sport'' (1986) * ''Caring for Cash: The Issue of Private Domiciliary Care'' (1986) * ''The Lost Seasons: Cricket in Wartime, 1939–45'' (1987) * ''Polls Apart?: Older Voters and the 1987 General Election'' (1987, with Susan Tester) * ''New Design for Old: Function, Style and Older People'' (1988) * ''Red Roses Crest the Caps: Story of

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground, although the team also play ...

'' (1989) * ''Creating Chances: Arts by Older People'' (1990) * ''The Old Order: Crime and Older People'' (1990) * ''Brylcreem Summer: The 1947 Cricket Season'' (1991) * ''The Illustrated History of County Cricket'' (1992) * ''Citizenship: From Ageism to Participation'' (1992) * ''Get Staffed!: A Report to the London Regional Passengers Committee on the Destaffing of British Rail's London Area Stations'' (1992) * ''A Voyage of Rediscovery: A Guide to Writing Your Life Story'' (1993) * ''The Rhubarb People: A Childhood Memoir of Manchester in the '30s'' (1993) * ''The Development of Social Welfare in Britain'' (1994) * ''Darling Old Oval : A History of 150 Years of Surrey Cricket at the Oval, 1845–1995'' (1995) * ''Pensioned Off: Retirement and Income Examined'' (1997) * ''Yesterdays: The Way We Were, 1919–1939'' (1998) * ''Yesterdays: Our Finest Hours, 1939–1953'' (2001) * ''Quill on Willow: Cricket in Literature'' (2001) * ''Best Remembered: A Hundred Stars of Yesteryear'' (2002) * ''As One Stage Door Closes: The Story of John Wade – Jobbing Conjuror'' (2002) * ''Novel Approaches: A Guide to the Popular Classic Novel'' (2003) * ''500 Beacons: The

U3A The University of the Third Age (U3A) is an international movement whose aims are the education and stimulation of mainly retired members of the community—those in their third 'age' of life. There is no universally accepted model for the U3A. It ...

Story'' (2004) * ''Red Shirts and Roses: The Tale of the Two Old Traffords'' (2005) * ''The People's Jesters: British Comedians in the 20th Century'' (2006) * ''

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

'' (2006) * ''Parish to Planet: How Football Came to Rule the World'' (2007) * ''

George Duckworth George Duckworth (9 May 1901 – 5 January 1966) was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and England. Duckworth, who won his cricketing fame as a wicket-keeper, was born and died in Warrington, Lancashire, an ...

: Warrington's Ambassador at Large'' (2007) * ''I Say, I Say, I Say: The Double Act Story'' (2009) * ''The Cricketer's Progress: Meadowland to Mumbai'' (2010) * ''Cricket Lore: The Guide'' (2014) * ''Class Peace: An Analysis of Social Status and English Cricket 1846–1962'' (2017) * ''Cricket's Four Epochs: How Cricket Reflects Civil Society'' (2021) The 2015 book ''Variety is the Spice of Life: The Worlds of Eric Midwinter'' is an appreciation of his life and work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midwinter, Eric 1932 births Living people Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Cricket historians and writers British historians British writers Academics of the University of Exeter Officers of the Order of the British Empire