Alan Gibson

Norman Alan Stewart Gibson (28 May 1923 at Sheffield, Yorkshire – 10 April 1997 at Taunton, Somerset) was an English journalist, writer and radio broadcaster, best known for his work in connection with cricket, though he also sometimes covered football and rugby union. At various times Alan Gibson was also a university lecturer, poet, BBC radio producer, historian, Baptist lay preacher and Liberal Party parliamentary candidate.

He was born in Yorkshire, but the family moved to the East End of London when he was a small child, 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 and Gloucestershire matches. After school he went to Queen's College, Oxford, where he gained a First in history and was elected President of the Oxford Union, though he never took office because of being called for National Service.

Gibson was a member of the Liberal Party and served as President of the Falmouth and Camborne Liberal Association. He stood as parliamentary candidate for that constituency at the 1959 General election but came third.

He was briefly a travelling lecturer with 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. He was a presenter of the BBC West regional TV news magazine programme Westward Ho! during 1953. 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. Subsequently he did some TV cricket commentary on county matches for HTV.

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