Peter Bromley
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Peter Bromley
OR:
Peter Bromley on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Peter Bromley (30 April 1929 – 3 June 2003) was
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
's voice of horse racing for 40 years, and one of the most famous and recognised sports broadcasters in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.


Early life

Born at
Heswall Heswall is a town on the Wirral, Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census, the population was 16,012, including the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 it was part of the administr ...
on
the Wirral Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to the ...
(then in Cheshire) Bromley was educated at
Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...
and Sandhurst. He served as a lieutenant in the
14th/20th King's Hussars The 14th/20th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was created by the amalgamation of the 14th King's Hussars and the 20th Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it amalgamated with the Royal Hussa ...
, where he won the Bisley Cup for
rifle shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms ( firearms and airguns, in forms suc ...
and came close to qualifying for Britain's modern pentathlon team for the
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
. He subsequently became the assistant to the British
racehorse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...
Frank Pullen, and rode occasionally as an amateur jockey until he fractured his skull when a horse he was riding collided with a lorry.


Rise as a commentator

In 1955 he became one of the first racecourse commentators in Britain (his first commentary was at Plumpton on 23 March that year - delivering the immortal line 'Atom Bomb has fallen!', after earlier test commentaries at the now-defunct
Hurst Park Hurst Park Racecourse was a racecourse at Moulsey Hurst, West Molesey, Surrey, near the River Thames. It was first laid out in 1890 and held its last race in 1962. There was racing at nearby Hampton for many years until 1887. The first meeting a ...
and at
Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse rac ...
), and in four years he commentated at every course apart from
Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Cumbria, England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, and was historically known as Kirkby in Cartmel. The village is the location of the 12t ...
. He had also begun to commentate on television, initially (briefly) for ITV, but from 1958 for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. On 13 May 1959, at Newmarket, he gave his first radio commentary. From 1 December 1959, he became the BBC's first racing correspondent, the first time the corporation had appointed a specialist correspondent on any sport. This was a full-time job: no commercial involvements or advertisements were permitted, and even opening fetes was frowned upon. He would remain in this position until the summer of 2001, calling home the winners of 202 Classics, with the exception of the 1969
St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...
when he was on holiday - BBC colleague Julian Wilson covered for him - and the 1997
St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...
when
Lee McKenzie Lee McKenzie (born 1 December 1977) is a journalist and presenter who is a reporter and deputy presenter for Channel 4's F1 coverage and also the main presenter of the W Series and Channel 4 Rugby. McKenzie also works on a variety of sports ...
stood in for him when he hurt his knee and could not climb up the stairs to the commentary box in Doncaster. By 1960, criticism from the racing fraternity of
Raymond Glendenning Raymond Carl Glendenning (25 September 1907 – 23 February 1974) was a BBC radio sports commentator and occasional character actor. Early years He was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, and was educated at Newport High School and the Unive ...
's commentaries - he showed little interest in the sport and required the assistance of a race reader - was intensifying, and the rise of television was making the field of commentary more specialised. Bromley was advised by Peter Dimmock not to go to radio because
Peter O'Sullevan Sir Peter O'Sullevan (3 March 1918 – 29 July 2015) was an Irish-British horse racing commentator for the BBC, and a correspondent for the Press Association, the ''Daily Express'', and ''Today''. He was the BBC's leading horse racing comme ...
could not go on forever (O'Sullevan was only 42 at the time) and he would be the next in line, but after commentating for radio on a number of races in 1960, Bromley became BBC Radio's main racing commentator from the beginning of 1961 (Glendenning's last racing commentary was on the
King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of ...
at Kempton Park on 26 December 1960, although he would continue to commentate on football,
racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...
and
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
until the early part of 1964). Bromley would, however, continue to commentate for BBC Television on occasions until around 1970.


Broadcasting

For forty years from 1961 to 2001, Peter Bromley gave the radio commentary on virtually every major race in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, plus the
Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance ...
and
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...
on many occasions, and races in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, where he stayed for some time in late 1974 and early 1975. He covered 42
Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...
s, 202 Classics, and over 10,000 races in all. His commentaries were heard on the Light Programme, Network Three, Third Network, Radio 2, Radio 5 and
Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...
, and his voice became instantly associated with racing among listeners all over the world as his commentaries also went out on the BBC World Service. His stentorian, almost military tones - which could turn almost instantly from calm
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...
to a roar of grand excitement - captured the drama and potency of horse racing, and his tireless championing of the sport within the BBC led to a dramatic expansion in the number of races covered - from only 50 a year in the early 1960s to over 250 by the 1980s, although in his later years that number would decline again. He was also responsible for the launch of a daily racing bulletin in 1964, which was cancelled in June 2007 when the bulletin was broadcast on
Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...
. The more memorable the race, the more memorable his commentary seemed to be:
Shergar Shergar (3 March 1978 – ) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After a very successful season in 1981 he was retired to the Ballymany Stud in County Kildare, Ireland. In 1983 he was stolen from the stud, and a ransom of ...
's
Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
in 1981 was heralded with the words "It's Shergar ... and you'll need a telescope to see the rest!", encapsulating how far ahead of his field the horse was. The epic
Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...
of 1973 was another example: "
Red Rum Red Rum (3 May 1965 – 18 October 1995) was a champion Thoroughbred steeplechaser. He achieved an unmatched historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977, and also came second in the two intervening years, 1975 ...
wins it, Crisp second and the rest don't matter - we'll never see a race like this in a hundred years!". An emotional piece of Bromley's commentary was his call in 1981 of
Bob Champion Robert Champion (born 4 June 1948) is an English former jump jockey, who won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti. His triumph, while recovering from cancer, was made into the 1984 film ''Champions'', with John Hurt portraying Champion. The f ...
winning the
Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...
on Aldaniti. Bromley, who never seemed to betray his partial deafness, was a conscientious professional, working hard to prepare for each commentary, often presenting winning trainers and owners with his charts, featuring the colours of each horse in a race, as souvenirs. In his later years, he was especially angered when his broadcast of the
Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
began as the runners were going in the stalls ( French Open tennis had interfered), and when he was told through his earphones, near the end of a race at Royal Ascot on 16 June 1998, to finish immediately after the race because
Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...
needed to go over to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
for the result of the
Louise Woodward Louise Woodward (born 1978) is a British former au pair, who at the age of 18 was accused of second degree murder but subsequently convicted of the involuntary manslaughter (reduced from the jury trial verdict) of eight-month-old Matthew Eappe ...
trial.


Later years and retirement

In his later years Bromley seemed to work less, giving much of his previous work over to commentator
Lee McKenzie Lee McKenzie (born 1 December 1977) is a journalist and presenter who is a reporter and deputy presenter for Channel 4's F1 coverage and also the main presenter of the W Series and Channel 4 Rugby. McKenzie also works on a variety of sports ...
and reporter Cornelius Lysaght. He had intended to retire when he turned 70 in 1999, but continued until the age of 72 mainly because the BBC wanted him to commentate on 200 Classics, a record which is unlikely to be broken. He finally retired after Galileo's Epsom Derby victory on 9 June 2001, 40 years after his first Derby commentary on
Psidium ''Psidium'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to warmer parts of the Western Hemisphere (Mexico, Central and South America, the West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounde ...
's shock 66–1 win. Bromley's main pastimes were training
gundog Gun dogs, or bird dogs, are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, usually quail, dove, or duck. Gun dogs are divided into three primary types: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. Types ...
s and
shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...
game. He had hoped to continue these when he moved from Berkshire to Suffolk on his retirement, but he began to suffer from pancreatic cancer less than a year after his final broadcast, and fell victim to the cancer 15 months later. He was survived by his second wife (his first wife had been killed in a car crash in 1960) and his three daughters.


References

*''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' Digital Archive *''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' obituary (anonymous) and appreciation by J.A. McGrath, 5 June 2003 *''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' obituary by Julian Wilson, 5 June 2003 *''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' obituary by Tony Smurthwaite, 5 June 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bromley, Peter 1929 births 2003 deaths 14th/20th King's Hussars officers People from Heswall British horse racing writers and broadcasters BBC people Deaths from pancreatic cancer People educated at Cheltenham College Deaths from cancer in England Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst British racehorse trainers