Philip Percy Cooper Drabble (13 May 1914 – 29 July 2007) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

countryman,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

. Brought up in the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during it ...

, he later lived in – and wrote mostly about – the countryside of north Worcestershire and at

Abbots Bromley Abbots Bromley is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire and lies approximately east of Stafford, England. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the settlement name Abbots ...

in East Staffordshire, where he created a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Biography

Early life

Drabble was an only child, whose mother died when he was young.''It's a Dog's Life'' His father was a GP and they lived in a terraced house in

Bloxwich Bloxwich is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. It is located between the towns of Walsall, Cannock, Willenhall and Brownhills. Early history Bloxwich has its origins at least as early as ...

. 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 In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

-styled cottage and of neglected

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

, Staffordshire, a remnant of the

Needwood Forest Needwood Forest was a large area of ancient woodland in Staffordshire, England, which was largely lost at the end of the 18th century. History The forest was on extensive lands owned by the Berkeley family of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire ...

''One Man and His Dog'' and later life

Drabble was best known as presenter of the long-running TV series ''

One Man and His Dog ''One Man and His Dog'' is a BBC television series in the United Kingdom featuring sheepdog trials, originally presented by Phil Drabble, with commentary by Eric Halsall and, later, by Ray Ollerenshaw. It was first aired on 17 February 1976 and ...

'', in which he commentated on

sheepdog trial A sheepdog trial (also herding event, stock dog trial or simply dog trial) — is a competition or test for working abilities of herding breeds dogs. It is a type of dog sport that emerged in the 1860s in New Zealand. By the 1870s regular trials ...

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 {{Unreferenced, date=October 2008 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. The original Midlander o ...

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 A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

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 & Star The ''Express & Star'' is a regional evening newspaper in Britain. Founded in 1889, it is based in Wolverhampton, England, and covers the West Midlands county and Staffordshire. Currently edited by Martin Wright, the ''Express & Star'' publi ...

, 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, at the age of 93. Having never had any children, he left the majority of his £1,013,523 estate to his PA of 25 years, Ruth Froggatt.

Bibliography

*''Staffordshire'' (1948) *''The Black Country'' (1952) *''A Weasel in My Meatsafe'' (1957) *''The Penguin Book of Pets'' (1964) *''Badgers at My Window'',

Pelham Books Pelham may refer to: People * Pelham (name), including a list of people with the name Places In Australia * Pelham, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region In Canada * Pelham, Ontario * Pelham Range, on Vancouver Island, British C ...

, (1969) ** reprint, Dickson Price, (1989) *''My Beloved Wilderness'', Pelham Books, (1971) *''Phil Drabble's Country Scene'', Pelham Books, (1974) *''Design for a Wilderness'' (1973) *''Pleasing Pets'' (1975) *''Book of Pets'' (1976) *''Country Seasons'' (with a

foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the ...

by Johnny Morris) Michael Joseph (1976) *''One Man and His Dog'' Michael Joseph (1978) *''Of Pedigree Unknown: Sporting & Working Dogs'' (1976) *''No Badgers in My Wood'' Michael Joseph (1979) *''Country Wise'' (1980) *''In the Country'' (The book of the BBC TV series presented by Angela Rippon) by Angela Rippon, Phil Drabble, Bernard Price, and Ted Moult (1980) *''Four Seasons: The Life of the English Countryside,'' by Sheila Mannes-Abbott and Phil Drabble (1981) *''It's a Dog's Life'', Michael Joseph (1983) *''Country Moods'', (A selection of his columns for The

Birmingham Evening Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire an ...

) Michael Joseph (1985) *''What Price the Countryside?'', Michael Joseph (1985) *''My Wilderness in Bloom'', Michael Joseph (1986) *''Sport and the English Countryside: The World of John Moore,'' by Phil Drabble, John Moore, and Daphne Moore (1987) *''A Voice in the Wilderness'', Pelham Books, (1991) -

Autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

. *''One Man and His Dog'' (vol.2, 1989) *''Walking - Britain's Most Beautiful Nature Trails'' (Activity Guides) (1992) *''My Wilderness Reprieved'' (1993)

References

External links

Anthony Hayward, ''Obituary: Phil Drabble one man and his dog,'' The Independent, 1 August 2007Laura Clout, ''Phil Drabble of TVs One Man and his Dog, dies,'' Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 1 August 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drabble, Phil 1914 births 2007 deaths English nature writers English television presenters Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Bromsgrove School People from Bloxwich English male non-fiction writers People from Abbots Bromley 20th-century English male writers