Peter Bromley
Encyclopedia
Peter Bromley was BBC Radio
's voice of horse racing
for 40 years, and one of the most famous and recognised sports broadcasters in the United Kingdom
.
on the Wirral (then in Cheshire
) Bromley was educated at Cheltenham College
and Sandhurst
. He served as a lieutenant in the 14th/20th King's Hussars
, where he won the Bisley Cup for rifle shooting and came close to qualifying for Britain's modern pentathlon
team for the 1952 Summer Olympics
. He subsequently became the assistant to the British racehorse trainer
Frank Pullen
, and rode occasionally as an amateur jockey until he fractured his skull when a horse he was riding collided with a lorry.
on 23 March that year - delivering the immortal line ' Atom Bomb has fallen!', after earlier test commentaries at the now-defunct Hurst Park
and at Sandown Park), and in four years he commentated at every course apart from Cartmel
. He had also begun to commentate on television, initially (briefly) for ITV
, but from 1958 for the BBC
. 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 when he was on holiday - BBC colleague Julian Wilson
covered for him - and the 1997 St Leger when Lee McKenzie (Sports Broadcaster and Radio Presenter) 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
'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
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
at Kempton Park
on 26 December 1960, although he would continue to commentate on football
, racing
and tennis
until the early part of 1964). Bromley would, however, continue to commentate for BBC Television
on occasions until around 1970, but for many years O'Sullevan and Bromley would have a running joke that had Bromley not gone to radio, he would have been the longest-serving understudy in broadcasting.
, plus the Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
on many occasions, and races in the United States
, Hong Kong
and South Africa
, where he stayed for some time in late 1974 and early 1975. He covered 42 Grand National
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
, 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
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 axed only in June 2007 on Five Live
.
The more memorable the race, the more memorable his commentary seemed to be: Shergar
's Derby
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
of 1973 was another example: "Red Rum
wins it, Crisp
second and the rest don't matter - we'll never see a race like this in a hundred years!". He could capture sheer tension with well-chosen words, for example when he said "Harden your hearts, gentlemen, this will be a race to remember" four fences from the end of Dawn Run
's Cheltenham Gold Cup
in 1986. In 1989, his commentary on Desert Orchid
's Cheltenham Gold Cup success reached such levels of hysteria that he almost sounded as though he was about to fall out of the commentary box, but it too caught the mood of the day, and was said by long-time colleague John Inverdale
to be Bromley's favourite commentary. Bromley's most emotional piece of commentary probably was his coverage in 1981 of Bob Champion
winning the Grand National
on Aldaniti
.
Like most commentators, he had his own Colemanball
: on 11 February 1989, while previewing a race at Newbury
named after Game Spirit, a horse owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother that had dropped dead at the course, Bromley referred to Game Spirit as "a lovely horse who was owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother who dropped dead here after a long and distinguished career" http://catalogue.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/SX+40513_9.
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. He could display a short fuse with technicians, and was sometimes seen as difficult to work with: in his later years, he was especially angered when his broadcast of the Derby
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
needed to go over to the United States
for the result of the Louise Woodward
trial. The senior producer sent the following day to apologise for the incident took his wife for protection, knowing that Bromley was essentially a gentleman who would not have said what he was thinking of BBC management while women were present. Beneath his initially brusque surface, Bromley was an amiable and widely-admired man, with many friends both in and out of racing.
, while some said that his style was outmoded and that his age was affecting his reading of a race. 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
's shock 66-1 win.
Bromley's main past-times were training gundogs and shooting
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 1959) and his three daughters.
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
's voice of horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
for 40 years, and one of the most famous and recognised sports broadcasters in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Early life
Born at HeswallHeswall
Heswall is a town in Wirral, in the county of Merseyside, England. Administratively, it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. At the time of the 2001 Census, the total population of the ward was 16,012 , which included the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton...
on the Wirral (then in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
) Bromley was educated at Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
and Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
. He served as a lieutenant in the 14th/20th King's Hussars
14th/20th King's Hussars
The 14th/20th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1922 to 1992.- History :Originally styled the 14th/20th Hussars, the regiment was created in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 14th King's Hussars and the 20th Hussars, as part of the reductions in the Army...
, where he won the Bisley Cup for rifle shooting and came close to qualifying for Britain's modern pentathlon
Modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is a sports contest that includes five events: pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run...
team for the 1952 Summer Olympics
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...
. He subsequently became the assistant to the British racehorse trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
Frank Pullen
Frank Pullen
Francis Henry "Frank" Pullen was an English businessperson and racehorse owner.-Early life:He was born, the youngest of four children, as Francis Henry Pullen to Arthur and Alice Pullen at Catford, South London...
, 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 PlumptonPlumpton Racecourse
Plumpton Racecourse is a National Hunt horse-racing course at the village of Plumpton, East Sussex near Lewes and Brighton.One of the smaller National Hunt race courses in Britain, it is rather hilly, a tightish left-handed circuit of just over a mile...
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
Hurst Park Racecourse was a racecourse at Moulsey Hurst, West Molesey, Surrey. It was first laid out in 1890 and sold for residential housing in 1962. The Triumph Hurdle was run here from 1939 until the course closed. The last race to be held here was the Byfleet Stakes, the 4.30 on Wednesday 10...
and at Sandown Park), and in four years he commentated at every course apart from Cartmel
Cartmel Racecourse
Cartmel Racecourse is a small racecourse in the village of Cartmel, now in the Ceremonial County of Cumbria, historically in Lancashire. Meetings are held on the May and August Bank Holidays. Although the racecourse is small, it is noted as having a four furlong run-in, the longest in Britain...
. He had also begun to commentate on television, initially (briefly) for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, but from 1958 for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. On 13 May 1959, at Newmarket
Newmarket Racecourse
The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...
, 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 when he was on holiday - BBC colleague Julian Wilson
Julian Wilson (broadcaster)
Julian Wilson a former pupil of Harrow School was the BBC's horse racing correspondent from 1966 until his retirement in 1997. He was succeeded by Clare Balding....
covered for him - and the 1997 St Leger when Lee McKenzie (Sports Broadcaster and Radio Presenter) 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 Glendenning
Raymond Glendenning was a BBC radio sports commentator.-Early years:He was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, and was educated at Newport High School and the University of London...
'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
Peter Dimmock
Peter Harold Dimmock CBE, CVO is a pioneering former sports broadcaster of British television during its formative years in the 1950s. He was the first host of the BBC's long-running Grandstand and also the first host of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.-Early life and career:Dimmock...
not to go to radio because Peter O'Sullevan
Peter O'Sullevan
Sir Peter O'Sullevan is a retired horse racing commentator for the BBC from 1947 to 1997, and correspondent for the Press Association, Daily Express and Today.-Early life:...
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
King George VI Chase
The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles , and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped...
at Kempton Park
Kempton Park Racecourse
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, which is a western suburb of London 16 miles from the city centre. The site is set in of land....
on 26 December 1960, although he would continue to commentate on football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, racing
Racing
A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
until the early part of 1964). Bromley would, however, continue to commentate for BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
on occasions until around 1970, but for many years O'Sullevan and Bromley would have a running joke that had Bromley not gone to radio, he would have been the longest-serving understudy in broadcasting.
Broadcasting legend
For forty years from 1961 to 2001, Peter Bromley gave the radio commentary on virtually every major race in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, plus the Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...
on many occasions, and races in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where he stayed for some time in late 1974 and early 1975. He covered 42 Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
s, 202 Classics, and over 10,000 races in all. His commentaries were heard on the Light Programme
BBC Light Programme
The Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2...
, Network Three, Third Network, Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, Radio 5
BBC Radio 5 (former)
BBC Radio 5 was a BBC radio network that carried sport, children's and educational programmes.It was transmitted via analogue radio on 693 and 909 kHz, and lasted for three years and eight months. The success of BBC Radio 4's coverage of the Gulf War, on a service known as Scud FM,...
and Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, 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
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
.
His stentorian, almost military tones - which could turn almost instantly from calm Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation , also called the Queen's English, Oxford English or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms...
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 axed only in June 2007 on Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
.
The more memorable the race, the more memorable his commentary seemed to be: Shergar
Shergar
Shergar was an acclaimed Irish racehorse, and winner of the 1981 Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths, the longest winning margin in the race's 226-year history. This victory earned him a spot in The Observer newspaper's 100 Most Memorable Sporting Moments of the Twentieth Century...
's Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
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
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
of 1973 was another example: "Red Rum
Red Rum
Red Rum was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who 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...
wins it, Crisp
Crisp (horse)
Crisp was a champion steeplechase horse. He was a bay Thoroughbred gelding that was foaled in 1963 in Australia. In his native country, he won many important jumping races, particularly two-milers, including the Hiskens Steeplechase in 1969 and 1970. So well did he jump, he was nicknamed "The Black...
second and the rest don't matter - we'll never see a race like this in a hundred years!". He could capture sheer tension with well-chosen words, for example when he said "Harden your hearts, gentlemen, this will be a race to remember" four fences from the end of Dawn Run
Dawn Run
Dawn Run was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was the most successful racemare in the history of National Hunt racing. She won the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham racing festival in 1984 and the Cheltenham Gold Cup over fences at the festival in 1986. Dawn Run was the only racehorse to have...
's Cheltenham Gold Cup
Cheltenham Gold Cup
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in the United Kingdom which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...
in 1986. In 1989, his commentary on Desert Orchid
Desert Orchid
Desert Orchid , affectionately known as Dessie, was an English racehorse. The gallant grey achieved iconic status within National Hunt racing, where he was much loved by supporters for his front-running attacking style, iron will and extreme versatility. He was rated the fifth best National Hunt...
's Cheltenham Gold Cup success reached such levels of hysteria that he almost sounded as though he was about to fall out of the commentary box, but it too caught the mood of the day, and was said by long-time colleague John Inverdale
John Inverdale
John Inverdale , is an English radio and television broadcaster who works for the BBC, mainly covering sporting events.-Biography:...
to be Bromley's favourite commentary. Bromley's most emotional piece of commentary probably was his coverage in 1981 of Bob Champion
Bob Champion
Robert "Bob" Champion MBE was born in Guisborough, in the north of England, on 4 June 1948. He is an English jump jockey who won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti. His triumph was made into a film Champions, with John Hurt portraying Champion...
winning the Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
on Aldaniti
Aldaniti
Aldaniti , , was a famous racehorse who won the Grand National on 4 April 1981. Jockey Bob Champion famously recovered from cancer while Aldaniti recovered after suffering a career threatening injury. The horse was trained by Josh Gifford...
.
Like most commentators, he had his own Colemanball
Colemanballs
Colemanballs is a term coined by Private Eye magazine to describe verbal gaffes perpetrated by sports commentators. The word Colemanballs probably borrows from Colemans Meatballs, once familiar in the UK and sold by the company ColemanNatural...
: on 11 February 1989, while previewing a race at Newbury
Newbury Racecourse
Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps...
named after Game Spirit, a horse owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother that had dropped dead at the course, Bromley referred to Game Spirit as "a lovely horse who was owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother who dropped dead here after a long and distinguished career" http://catalogue.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/SX+40513_9.
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. He could display a short fuse with technicians, and was sometimes seen as difficult to work with: in his later years, he was especially angered when his broadcast of the Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
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 Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
needed to go over to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for the result of the Louise Woodward
Louise Woodward
The Louise Woodward case concerned a young English au pair convicted, at age 19, of the 1997 involuntary manslaughter of eight-month-old Matthew Eappen while he was in her care in his home in Newton, Massachusetts, in the United States...
trial. The senior producer sent the following day to apologise for the incident took his wife for protection, knowing that Bromley was essentially a gentleman who would not have said what he was thinking of BBC management while women were present. Beneath his initially brusque surface, Bromley was an amiable and widely-admired man, with many friends both in and out of racing.
Later years and retirement
In his later years Bromley seemed to work less, giving much of his previous work over to commentator Lee McKenzie and reporter Cornelius LysaghtCornelius Lysaght
Cornelius Lysaght is the horse racing correspondent of the BBC, usually broadcasting on Radio 5 Live. He took up this position in June 2001, succeeding the late Peter Bromley, who had held the position since 1959....
, while some said that his style was outmoded and that his age was affecting his reading of a race. 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
Galileo (horse)
Galileo is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He is best known for winning the Epsom Derby, Irish Derby Stakes, and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2001 and for his rivalry with the Godolphin champion Fantastic Light...
's Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
victory on 9 June 2001, 40 years after his first Derby commentary on Psidium
Psidium (horse)
Psidium was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career that lasted from 1960 to 1961 Psidium ran eleven times and won twice. He is best known for his win, as a 66/1 outsider in the 1961 Epsom Derby...
's shock 66-1 win.
Bromley's main past-times were training gundogs and shooting
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
. He had hoped to continue these when he moved from Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
to Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
on his retirement, but he began to suffer from pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
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 1959) and his three daughters.