"... We all knew Peter for the most part as our English Language and English Literature teacher at King’s School, he was also the genius behind the productions of the annual School Shakespeare Plays. Peter was a perfectionist and his ability to make even Charles Dickens Old Curiosity Shop sound interesting to a bunch of 15 year olds was quite a feat. His ‘voices’ and mimicry were amazing whether it be Dickens, Chaucer or Shakespeare. The effort that we all knew Peter put into the school plays was astounding too. He had the ability to get all ‘his people’ working together, woe betide you if you didn’t. Even some of the other staff members, Bob Wellings, Alan Rosser and of course Margaret who all assisted to ‘get the show on the road’ all acted tirelessly urged on by Peter’s enthusiasm. How he used to take the School van, that old green Morris Commercial to London to collect the stage lighting and dimmer boards from Strand Electrics. There were generally 3 of us on the ‘lighting’ and Peter prepared the schedule for this too and I can remember us all and as individuals getting the rough side of Peter’s tongue when we accidentally messed up in rehearsals. It would have been unthinkable for us to have made mistakes on ‘the night’ of course.

Peter was from the same town as my father, they both attended The County Grammar School during the same period, but at Matriculation as it was in those days Peter did ‘Arts’ and my Dad ‘Sciences’. Peter was the son of a well known local GP and he lived with his parents and brother ... (address withheld) (in) Port Talbot. It could be said had circumstances been different for Peter he could so easily have been yet another of Port Talbot’s famous sons joining the ranks of Richard Burton (Cwmavon boy) and Anthony Hopkins (the Margam boy). So it was quite a surprise to me when very soon after his arrival at King’s Peter asked me if I belonged to the Abbott’s of Port Talbot. This of course triggered the meeting up once again of Peter & my Dad some 30 years after they left school.

Peter was a fine man and I never heard of a bad word against him, I feel privileged to have known him and I thoroughly regret not being able to have spent some time with him in our mutual later years.

1955-1960"