Phil Drabble
Encyclopedia
Philip Percy Cooper Drabble OBE
(13 May 1914 – 29 July 2007) was an English
countryman
, author
and television presenter. Raised in the Black Country
, he later lived in – and wrote mostly about – the countryside of north Worcestershire
and at Abbots Bromley
in south Staffordshire
, where he created a nature reserve
.
and they lived in a terraced house in Bloxwich
. He began work as a factory lad and rose to the board of Salters and membership of the management board of the Midland Engineering Employers Association.
In 1947, he made his first radio broadcast, and in 1952 his first television appearance. At the age of 47 he became a full-time writer, and he and his wife Jess purchased a derelict folly-styled cottage and 90 acres (360,000 m²) of neglected ancient woodland
in Abbots Bromley
, Staffordshire
, a remnant of the Needwood Forest
.
, in which he commentated on sheepdog trial
s for 17 years from 1976 to 1993. At its peak the BBC programme attracted more than 8 million viewers and even the Queen was a fan, asking Drabble for advice after her liberty budgies were attacked by hawks at Windsor. Declared Midlander of the Year
in 1992, and made OBE in the year he retired from the programme, he announced in 1993 that it had become "a bit boring watching dogs chase stroppy sheep round a field."
A pub very near Drabble's former home in Bloxwich is named "One Man and His Dog" in his honour.
, took few holidays, travelled abroad only a couple of times, and was proud to have never lived more than 20 miles from his place of birth.
He and his wife turned the woodland they had bought and lived next to into the Goat Lodge Reserve. After a fight with Center Parcs
who wanted to build a centre just outside its borders, it became a recognised Site of Special Scientific Interest
.
Predeceased eighteen months earlier by his wife, Drabble died at his home in Abbots Bromley on 29 July 2007. Having never had any children, he left the majority of his £1,013,523 estate to his PA of 25 years, Ruth Froggatt.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(13 May 1914 – 29 July 2007) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
countryman
Countryman
- Personnel :*Craig Allen – Art Direction, Design*Sweet Pea Atkinson – Vocals*Dan Bosworth – Guitar*Sir Harry Bowens – Vocals*Kim Buie – Executive Producer*Santa Davis – Drums*Richard Feldman – Guitar, Producer, Engineer, Mixing*Pam Hall – Vocals...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and television presenter. Raised in the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
, he later lived in – and wrote mostly about – the countryside of north Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
and at Abbots Bromley
Abbots Bromley
Abbots Bromley is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is famous for the annual Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. It is also the home of one of the Woodard Schools, Abbots Bromley School for Girls...
in south Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, where he created a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
.
Early life
Drabble was an only child, whose mother died when he was young. His father was a GPGeneral practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
and they lived in a terraced house in Bloxwich
Bloxwich
Bloxwich is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England, with a population of around 40,000 people.-Early history:Bloxwich has its origins at least as early as the Anglo-Saxon period, when the place name evidence suggests it was a small Mercian settlement named after the...
. He began work as a factory lad and rose to the board of Salters and membership of the management board of the Midland Engineering Employers Association.
In 1947, he made his first radio broadcast, and in 1952 his first television appearance. At the age of 47 he became a full-time writer, and he and his wife Jess purchased a derelict folly-styled cottage and 90 acres (360,000 m²) of neglected ancient woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
in Abbots Bromley
Abbots Bromley
Abbots Bromley is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is famous for the annual Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. It is also the home of one of the Woodard Schools, Abbots Bromley School for Girls...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, a remnant of the Needwood Forest
Needwood Forest
Needwood Forest was a large area of ancient woodland in Staffordshire which was largely lost at the end of the 18th century.-History:Needwood Forest was a chase or royal forest given to Henry III's son Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, in 1266...
.
One Man and His Dog and later life
Drabble was best known as presenter of the long-running TV series One Man and His DogOne Man and His Dog
One Man and His Dog is a television series in the United Kingdom featuring sheepdog trials, presented by Phil Drabble with commentary by Eric Halsall, and later by Ray Ollerenshaw, Robin Page, and Gus Dermody. At its peak, in the early 1980s, it attracted audiences in excess of eight million...
, in which he commentated on sheepdog trial
Sheepdog trial
A Sheepdog trial is a competitive dog sport in which herding dog breeds move sheep around a field, fences, gates, or enclosures as directed by their handlers. Such events are particularly associated with hill farming areas, where sheep range widely on largely unfenced land...
s for 17 years from 1976 to 1993. At its peak the BBC programme attracted more than 8 million viewers and even the Queen was a fan, asking Drabble for advice after her liberty budgies were attacked by hawks at Windsor. Declared Midlander of the Year
Midlander of the Year
Midlander of the Year is an annual award, recognising people deemed to have "made an outstanding contribution to the social, sporting, political or cultural life" of the English Midlands....
in 1992, and made OBE in the year he retired from the programme, he announced in 1993 that it had become "a bit boring watching dogs chase stroppy sheep round a field."
A pub very near Drabble's former home in Bloxwich is named "One Man and His Dog" in his honour.
Later life
Drabble, who also wrote a newspaper column for the Express & StarExpress & Star
The Express & Star is an evening newspaper based in Wolverhampton, England, published Monday to Saturday in nine different editions covering the Black Country, Birmingham and the wider West Midlands area from Tamworth to Kidderminster. It as widely perceived as being moderately right-wing...
, took few holidays, travelled abroad only a couple of times, and was proud to have never lived more than 20 miles from his place of birth.
He and his wife turned the woodland they had bought and lived next to into the Goat Lodge Reserve. After a fight with Center Parcs
Center Parcs
Center Parcs is a European network of holiday villages incorporating a UK-based company, Center Parcs UK, which runs holiday villages in the United Kingdom and a sister enterprise, Center Parcs Europe, that operates in numerous locations in continental Europe...
who wanted to build a centre just outside its borders, it became a recognised Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
.
Predeceased eighteen months earlier by his wife, Drabble died at his home in Abbots Bromley on 29 July 2007. Having never had any children, he left the majority of his £1,013,523 estate to his PA of 25 years, Ruth Froggatt.