Stone, Peter: Biography
Peter Stone
1927-2000
When the Barbel Society published their tribute in 2001, a soft-cover edition limited to 3000 copies, the sub-heading was:
The Gentleman of angling
We never met, but those of his acquaintance are in agreement with the sentiment expressed. One only has to look through the index of the Society's publication at the list of some of the greatest names in angling, such as Chris Yates, Fred J. Taylor MBE, Peter Wheat, Matt Hayes, John Bailey, Chris Ball and Kevin Clifford, to name but a few - each has their memory of Peter Stone, and all are in accord - he was indeed a gentleman.
Born in 1927, he lived his entire life in the village of Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, and there is a commemorative plaque in his honour on the bridge over his favourite stretch of the River Thames, which he fished throughout his life. He was employed by the Oxford University Press, where he developed a career as a craftsman bookbinder, and when he left that occupation, he diversified into taxidermy. One friend and fellow angler asked whether, when resigning, he would tell his boss to get stuffed! There is no record of his reply, which is unsurprising - according to all who knew him, he was a kind, and gentle man who never had a bad word for anyone.
It is known that Peter Stone was a good all-round fisherman sea-angler, fly-fisher, and a first-class coarse fisherman. Encouraged by Dick Walker, he wrote his first article: Seven days at Arlesey Lakes. After scrutiny, Walker sent it back to Peter with a suggestion that he rewrote the piece. Although devastated by this, he only made minimal changes before sending it back to Walker, who then gave it his seal of approval and advised him to send it to The Midland Angler. Walker wrote a letter of congratulations on publication. Many years later, Peter asked Walker what was wrong with the article and he replied: 'Nothing, it was just a test of character.' It was Peter's feeling that had he failed the test, he and Walker would not have become friends. By all accounts, Walker did not suffer fools gladly. It appears that Peter Stone was far from that; he was intelligent, sensitive, and a widely-respected angler.
He was also an accomplished musician. A thespian, with a sense of humour, he once appeared in Nick Fisher's TV series, Screaming Reels, dressed as a pantomime Dame and was filmed stealthily approaching the reiverbank in an attempt to lull the tench into a false sense of security, before casting a line on the water - all very tongue-in-cheek of course! He was also an artist, sketching and painting in oils and watercolours. I believe he was drawing and painting illustrations for his 12th book, Along the Way, when he died. This was published posthumously by Medlar in 2002, followed by the Walker/Stone Letters (2007) - a collection of correspondence between him and Dick Walker, which Peter compiled.
During his literary career, he wrote 13 books, and countless articles for magazines and newspapers, regularly contributing a column to the Oxford Telegraph; but he is perhaps best known for his books Legering (Arco, 1963), Bream and Barbel (EM Art & Publishing, 1963) and Gravel Pit Angling (David & Charles, 1978).
As a fisherman, he is known for catching barbel and chub,, and 100lbs.' bags of bream from his favourite river, the Thames. He also developied the touch-legering method of fishing, designing and building a split-cane rod with a quiver-tip, known as the Legerstrike, the rod, made by Chapmans, was his favourite. Its sensitive tip enabled him to detect bites from small fish, such as gudgeon. He also wrote a book on the subject - Legering was published by Arco in 1963. Though he was not renowned as a 'big-fish' hunter, his dearest wish at the end of his life was to catch a 4lbs. perch which sadly, he was unable to achieve as his health failed.
When asked by Steve Partner of the Angling Times what was his proudest catch, he replied that it was the 7lbs. 4ozs.' chub which he caught from Hardwick in 1982, and that was not simply down to the size and weight, but the fact that it was caught in difficult water and weather conditions, so was his most memorable fish.
Born in 1927, he lived his entire life in the village of Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, and there is a commemorative plaque in his honour on the bridge over his favourite stretch of the River Thames, which he fished throughout his life. He was employed by the Oxford University Press, where he developed a career as a craftsman bookbinder, and when he left that occupation, he diversified into taxidermy. One friend and fellow angler asked whether, when resigning, he would tell his boss to get stuffed! There is no record of his reply, which is unsurprising - according to all who knew him, he was a kind, and gentle man who never had a bad word for anyone.
It is known that Peter Stone was a good all-round fisherman sea-angler, fly-fisher, and a first-class coarse fisherman. Encouraged by Dick Walker, he wrote his first article: Seven days at Arlesey Lakes. After scrutiny, Walker sent it back to Peter with a suggestion that he rewrote the piece. Although devastated by this, he only made minimal changes before sending it back to Walker, who then gave it his seal of approval and advised him to send it to The Midland Angler. Walker wrote a letter of congratulations on publication. Many years later, Peter asked Walker what was wrong with the article and he replied: 'Nothing, it was just a test of character.' It was Peter's feeling that had he failed the test, he and Walker would not have become friends. By all accounts, Walker did not suffer fools gladly. It appears that Peter Stone was far from that; he was intelligent, sensitive, and a widely-respected angler.
He was also an accomplished musician. A thespian, with a sense of humour, he once appeared in Nick Fisher's TV series, Screaming Reels, dressed as a pantomime Dame and was filmed stealthily approaching the reiverbank in an attempt to lull the tench into a false sense of security, before casting a line on the water - all very tongue-in-cheek of course! He was also an artist, sketching and painting in oils and watercolours. I believe he was drawing and painting illustrations for his 12th book, Along the Way, when he died. This was published posthumously by Medlar in 2002, followed by the Walker/Stone Letters (2007) - a collection of correspondence between him and Dick Walker, which Peter compiled.
During his literary career, he wrote 13 books, and countless articles for magazines and newspapers, regularly contributing a column to the Oxford Telegraph; but he is perhaps best known for his books Legering (Arco, 1963), Bream and Barbel (EM Art & Publishing, 1963) and Gravel Pit Angling (David & Charles, 1978).
As a fisherman, he is known for catching barbel and chub,, and 100lbs.' bags of bream from his favourite river, the Thames. He also developied the touch-legering method of fishing, designing and building a split-cane rod with a quiver-tip, known as the Legerstrike, the rod, made by Chapmans, was his favourite. Its sensitive tip enabled him to detect bites from small fish, such as gudgeon. He also wrote a book on the subject - Legering was published by Arco in 1963. Though he was not renowned as a 'big-fish' hunter, his dearest wish at the end of his life was to catch a 4lbs. perch which sadly, he was unable to achieve as his health failed.
When asked by Steve Partner of the Angling Times what was his proudest catch, he replied that it was the 7lbs. 4ozs.' chub which he caught from Hardwick in 1982, and that was not simply down to the size and weight, but the fact that it was caught in difficult water and weather conditions, so was his most memorable fish.
From what I have learned of Peter Stone, he was a man of integrity, applauded by those who knew him well for being 100% trustworthy and reliable; a man whose 'word was his bond.' It is said that his sense of humour and geniality made it a pleasure to be in his company; ever-generous with his time, he passed on his angling knowledge to others, and actively encourage young people to fish. For me, the most refreshing tribute in the Barbel Society magazine was that of Jonathon Cole then aged 12, who wrote of Peter Stone:
It was Peter's tremendous experience, skill and friendly character that make him a legend to me and many others. It is a privilege to have spent fishing days with him.
That is a sentiment expressed by many, and I am sorry that we never met.
That is a sentiment expressed by many, and I am sorry that we never met.
Sandra Armishaw
July 4th, 2008
NB: Should you visit River Reads, Torrington, Devon, we have some of Peters fishing tackle on display in our archive notably, his Modern Arms Pinfire fly rod, and his DAM multiplying reel.
« Return to Author Index | View Bibliography »
Comments
Add a Comment