Peter Wilby 1930 – 2022

It is with deep sadness that I learnt of the death of Peter Wilby. Peter was a friend and a regular and valued contributor to the ‘Embsay-with-Eastby News’, and was always a great source of encouragement from when I took over the magazine in March 2008 until its demise after the April 2020 edition due to the Coronavirus lockdown. What many readers did not know was that Peter also contributed to almost all 146 issues that I edited but rarely deviated from his desire to remain anonymous.

He was born in Morley to parents who were mill workers and excelled at school. After University and National Service in Malaya he returned to his love of teaching, which took him to Keighley and then to the advisory service in Leeds. One Embsay resident told me that Peter was the only teacher who fully engaged and inspired him. Peter married Hilary and had three children of whom he was immensely proud. Having ‘retired’ he worked for a while for the British Council setting up teacher training in colleges in Africa and the Middle East. He and Hilary settled in Embsay and lived on Brackenley Lane where their front room windows opened onto the glorious panorama of Embsay Crag. Chris and I remember walking along Brackenley Lane and if Hilary and Peter were in the front garden there was always time for a chat.

It was only when I took over the editorship of the ‘Embsay-with-Eastby News’ that I realised the depth of Peter’s interests. He regularly contributed articles about the sky at night, the geology of the Embsay area under the title ‘Embsayology’, many humorous pieces on the use of poor English, the ridiculous number of road signs cluttering up the village roads and many other subjects too varied to mention. Along with Stephen Schofield he wrote a series of illustrated walks around Embsay and was always keen to share his observations of the village’s bird life. His love of literature and poetry shone through his writings and he loved nothing better than to quote Shakespeare, Dickens, Tennyson and even Gilbert & Sullivan. He was also a guardian of the village’s open spaces, always on the alert for what he considered inappropriate goings on. Peter was also very musical and his piano was in pride of place in his front room. He looked forward to attending Skipton Music concerts but as he became less mobile the visits were less frequent.

Peter and Hilary also fell under the spell of the island of Mallorca and in particular Soller and Puerto Soller. When told we were visiting the island Peter would come knocking at the door loaded with maps, books and photographs to show us what we should not miss. Those who met Peter never forgot him. His last trip to Mallorca was with his son Jonathan. They visited the hotel in the mountains above Soller where he and Hilary had stayed and the owner instantly recognised Peter, despite the years that had passed since his previous visit and greeted him as a long lost son. On our last visit to the island Peter became enthused by the timing of our trip as we would be in Puerto Soller when the annual re-enactment of the last attempted Arab invasion took place. He showered us with photographs and warned us of dire consequences if we became caught up in the celebrations. That was Peter, surely Embsay’s last Renaissance Man.

Our thoughts and condolences are with Peter’s family at this time as we remember and celebrate the life of their remarkable father/grandfather.

Funeral at Skipton Crematorium on Friday, 18th February at 11.40am (notice in ‘The Craven Herald’).

Andrew Wilson