Peter Bromley facts for kids

Peter Bromley (born April 30, 1929 – died June 3, 2003) was a very famous voice on BBC Radio. For 40 years, he was known as the voice of horse racing in the United Kingdom. Many people recognized his voice when he talked about sports.

Early Life and Military Service

Peter Bromley was born in Heswall on the Wirral. He went to school at Cheltenham College and then to Sandhurst. Sandhurst is a special military academy.

He became a lieutenant in the 14th/20th King's Hussars, which was an army unit. He was very good at rifle shooting and won the Bisley Cup. He almost joined Britain's team for the modern pentathlon at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

After his time in the army, Peter worked as an assistant to a horse trainer named Frank Pullen. He also sometimes rode horses as an amateur jockey. However, he had a serious accident when his horse crashed into a lorry. This accident caused him to fracture his skull.

Becoming a Racing Commentator

In 1955, Peter Bromley became one of the first people to commentate on horse races directly from the racecourse in Britain. His very first commentary was at Plumpton on March 23, 1955. He famously said, "Atom Bomb has fallen!" during that race.

Within four years, he had commentated at almost every racecourse in Britain. He also started working in television. He briefly worked for ITV and then joined the BBC in 1958.

On May 13, 1959, he gave his first radio commentary at Newmarket. By December 1, 1959, he became the BBC's first ever specialist racing correspondent. This was a full-time job. He stayed in this important role until 2001. During his career, he called the winners of 202 major races called "Classics."

In 1961, Peter Bromley became the main racing commentator for BBC Radio. He continued to commentate for BBC Television sometimes until about 1970.

Peter Bromley's Broadcasting Career

For 40 years, from 1961 to 2001, Peter Bromley was the voice of almost every big horse race in the United Kingdom. He also covered races like the Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe many times. He even commentated on races in the United States, Hong Kong, and South Africa.

He covered 42 Grand National races and 202 "Classics." In total, he commentated on over 10,000 races! His voice was heard on many BBC Radio stations, including the BBC World Service. This meant people all over the world could listen to his commentaries.

Peter's voice was strong and clear, almost like a military commander. He could switch from a calm tone to a loud, excited roar very quickly. This helped him capture all the drama of horse racing. He worked hard to get the BBC to cover more races. Because of him, the number of races covered each year grew from about 50 in the early 1960s to over 250 by the 1980s.

Some of his commentaries are still remembered today. When the famous horse Shergar won the Epsom Derby in 1981, Peter said, "It's Shergar ... and you'll need a telescope to see the rest!" This showed how far ahead Shergar was.

Another famous moment was during the Grand National in 1973. Peter exclaimed, "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 also gave a very emotional commentary in 1981 when Bob Champion won the Grand National on Aldaniti.

Peter Bromley was a very dedicated professional. He worked hard to prepare for each commentary. He would often give his charts, which showed the colors of each horse, to the winning trainers and owners as souvenirs.

Later Years and Retirement

In his later years, Peter Bromley started to work less. Other commentators, like Lee McKenzie, took over some of his duties. He had planned to retire when he turned 70 in 1999. However, he continued working until he was 72. The BBC wanted him to reach a record of 200 Classic race commentaries, which he did.

He finally retired after the horse Galileo won the Epsom Derby on June 9, 2001. This was 40 years after his very first Derby commentary.

Peter's favorite hobbies were training gundogs and shooting game. He hoped to continue these hobbies when he moved from Berkshire to Suffolk after retiring. Sadly, less than a year after his last broadcast, he became ill with pancreatic cancer. He passed away 15 months later. He was survived by his second wife and his three daughters.