Alan Gibson: Difference between revisions

[[File:{{for multi|the Canadian film and television director|Alan Gibson 1976.jpg(director)|thumb|rightthe bishop|Alan Gibson]] (bishop)}}

Alan Gibson was born at [[Sheffield]] in [[Yorkshire]], but the family moved to [[Leyton]], which was then on the north-eastern outskirts of [[London]], when he was seven,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gibson |first1=Alan |title=A Mingled Yarn |date=1976 |publisher=Collins |location=London |isbn=000216115X |pages=22-2422–24}}</ref> and subsequently to the [[West Country]], where he attended [[Taunton School]]. Apart from his time at university, he spent all his subsequent life in that region, most of his cricket reporting being of [[Somerset CCC|Somerset]] and [[Gloucestershire CCC|Gloucestershire]] matches. After school he went to [[The Queen's College, Oxford|Queen's College, Oxford]], where he gained a First in history and was elected [[Presidents of the Oxford Union|President of the Oxford Union]], though he never took office because of being called for [[Conscription in the United Kingdom#After 1945|National Service]].

Gibson was a member of the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] and served as President of the [[Falmouth and Camborne (UK Parliament constituency)|Falmouth and Camborne Liberal Association]]. He stood as parliamentary candidate for that constituency at the [[1959 United Kingdom general election|1959 General election]] but came third.<ref>The Times House of Commons, 1959</ref>

He was briefly a travelling lecturer with [[Exeter University|University College, Exeter]], before getting a job with the West Region of the [[BBC Radio]] [[Home Service]]. That led him into cricket (and other sporting) commentary on matches in the region, though he did not do much of this until leaving the BBC staff and becoming a freelance. Eventually he graduated to national broadcasts, including appearances on ''[[Test Match Special]]'' from 1962 to 1975.<ref name="CMJ">Christopher Martin-Jenkins, ''Ball by Ball: The Story of Cricket Broadcasting'', 1990.</ref> He was a presenter of the [[BBC West]] regional TV news magazine programme ''Westward Ho!'' during 1953. Between 1955 and 1966, with his fellow compere Derek Jones, he presented a Saturday morning radio programme for the West Region called ''Good Morning!'', interspersing popular music with unscripted chat between the presenters.<ref>Gibson, ''A Mingled Yarn'', pp. 129–47.</ref> He was the narrator for the short documentary film ''Falmouth for Orders'' in 1965 and for three episodes of the BBC TV natural history series ''[[The World About Us]]'' between 1968 and 1973.<ref name="imdb">[https{{Cite web|title=Alan Gibson|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4107286/bio |access-date=2020-10-15|website=IMDb biography]}}</ref> Subsequently he did some TV cricket commentary on county matches for [[ITV Wales & West|HTV]].

He wrote on cricket at various times for ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'', ''[[The Guardian]]'', ''[[The Spectator]]'' and ''[[The Cricketer]]''. From 1967 until 1986 he was a cricket reporter for ''[[The Times]]''. He also reported [[rugby union]], in print and on radio. He spent some time as an early-morning disc-jockey, as well as appearingappeared on the radio shows ''[[Sunday Half Hour]]'' and ''[[Round Britain Quiz]]''. In 1961 he briefly joined the recently launched [[Westward Television]] to present ''Westward Diary'' after "he had been involved in a disagreement with the West Region authorities of the BBC over a comment he is alleged to have made in a two-way records programme with Derek Jones".<ref>"Alan Gibson goes to commercial TV", ''Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser'', 9 September 1961</ref>

As a cricket commentator he was articulate and often drily humorous. On a Saturday afternoon sport programme, [[Neil Durden-Smith]] once mentioned that he had been having tea with the Bishop of Leicester. On being cued in, Gibson began his commentary stint with: "No episcopal visitations here."<ref name="CMJ"/> His cricket writing for ''The Times'' was generally light-hearted, often concentrating more on his journey to the match (invariably by train, often changing at [[Didcot]], rarely straightforward) than on the cricket itself.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-alan-gibson-1267171.html Obituary published in ''The Independent''.] Retrieved 26 September 2009.</ref> On at least one occasion his day's report was published even though rain had prevented any cricket from taking place.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}

In his pieces he coined the descriptions "the Sage of [[Longparish]]" for his colleague [[John Woodcock (cricket writer)|John Woodcock]], "the Demon of [[Frome]]" for [[Colin Dredge]] of [[Somerset CCC|Somerset]], the Old Bald Blighter (the OBB) for [[Brian Close]] and "the [[Shoreditch]] Sparrow" for [[Robin Jackman]]. Woodcock said concerning their reports for ''The Times'': "I write about the cricket, and Alan writes about 'A Day at the Cricket'."<ref>''Growing up with Cricket'', p174.</ref> His cricket books, though still containing plenty of humour, were more serious affairs, knowledgeable and well researched.

He married twice: to Olwen Thomas in 1948 and to Rosemary King in 1968. Both marriages produced two children and both ended in divorce.<ref name=imdb/> He died at [[Taunton]] in Somerset.

[[Category:Alumni of Thethe Queen's College, Oxford]]

[[Category:Cricket historians and writers]]

[[Category:RugbyEnglish rugby union commentators]]