Peter Smith (1943-2019)

This obituary is based on the eulogy delivered by Peter’s family, friends and a humanist celebrant at his funeral on 29 January 2020

Peter was hospitable, welcoming, and loved chatting with anyone about anything – often becoming a world expert in two minutes! He was always inclusive and focussed on the person he was talking with as he had such a genuine interest in people. In addition to Stoke City and Welsh Rugby, one of his great passions in life was to help others, whether with his time or his practical and emotional support. He was tenacious in supporting friends through employment disputes and acted more as a ‘helper’ when attending Alzheimer’s Society activities in recent years. As one friend said, ‘he always thought of others, and nothing was too much for him.’

Born in 1943 in Market Drayton, Shropshire, just on the English side of the border, Peter was the second of four children. His family were from South Wales valleys coal mining stock. He inherited his deeply connected roots in Welsh socialism from his father Mel, one of ten children, who crossed the border in the 1930s in search of work.

Peter was obviously bright. He read Politics and Economics at Keele University and while there met his Hilary, his wife of 50 years. After Keele, Peter and Hilary both did postgraduate research, Hilary at Keele and Peter at Manchester (from where he would ride his Lambretta scooter, balancing a big saucepan of curry down between his feet that had been cooked with his next-door neighbour Sayed). They married in 1968 and lived in the village of Audlem, Cheshire, before moving south for work reasons.

Peter and Hilary graduate together at Keele

Peter began work as a lecturer in government and politics at Reading University, before moving on to a varied and stimulating career. From the Commission on Industrial Relations, he became Head of Research for a civil service trade union, spent a few years on the management side at British Airways, then with relief moved back to the trade union side of the table, rising to become Deputy General Secretary of the airline pilots’ union. Here he specialised in legal and pensions work, while also serving for many years on the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

In time, when Alex was born in 1982 and Jo in 1984, Peter revelled in being a father and dearly loved his daughters. He was immensely proud of their musical abilities, casting himself as the least musical member of the family. He took great pride in seeing both daughters successfully become NHS doctors and marry happily, performing a memorable duet with Jo’s new father-in-law at Jo and Luke’s Sri Lankan wedding. He was delighted to become a grandfather when ‘Tommy Rosh’ was born.

It’s an understatement to say that Peter was highly gregarious: he had a real gift for friendship. In addition to his long membership of CMVC, he sang with the London Welsh Rugby MVC and was a regular at pub jazz evenings and at Croydon Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Singing for the Brain’. In recent years, he was also active in the South-East Cancer Help Centre’s drama group – his first session there a forced choice between trying drama or joining Hilary for a trip around Tesco’s. He loved his real ale too and was an active member of the Croydon Real Ale Protection Society, affectionately known as the ‘CRAPpers’. Combining this with his love of hiking, in 2009 he and Crapper friend Bob Steel jointly founded the six-monthly Ale Trails breaks – no prizes for guessing what was involved there.

Peter arrives in Paris in 2010 after charity cycle ride from London

A strong recurring theme in the cards we received was how brave and inspirational Peter was in the face of significant challenges, living life to the full and not letting anything hold him back. Despite his diagnoses with cancer in 2009 and Alzheimer’s in 2013, he retained an indomitable spirit, a strong can-do attitude and an amazingly positive outlook on life. This was shown most clearly by his ambitious cycle rides raising thousands for charity – perhaps most of all, with Hilary’s firm support, his latest Velodrome challenge at a time when he could barely walk.

Peter’s generosity, courage and determination went along with no small amount of stubbornness, demonstrated both in his work – such as the minority tribunal judgments he wrote, often supported in higher courts – and in his personal life, as illustrated by the postcard on his study door: ‘Be reasonable – do it my way’. This strength of character served him well for his life-long dedication to social justice and sticking up for the underdog. His regular self-identification as a rebel (often taking a contrary position to everyone else) was reflected in the pride he took in being naughty and embarrassing his daughters. He always had a ‘twinkle in his eye’ and a wonderful sense of humour – usually somewhat irreverent.

Friends have spoken of Peter’s ‘infectious enthusiasm for life’ and his ‘unforgettable ability to light up a room’. We will always remember him as full of optimism, smiles and laughter, often with a beer in hand. In the words of a dear friend ‘He liked the world, laughed at it… and raised another glass!’.