It is with great sadness that we report the death of Peter Wilson on 16th July 2026. Peter was a much loved, hugely admired and long standing member of Wetherby Speakers Club.
As the longest serving member Peter was the “father of the club”, and a source of great knowledge, good sense and wisdom. He always made newcomers feel welcome and helped so many people become better speakers with his perceptive and practical feedback. As an evaluator and judge he had the knack of alighting on the nub of what made a speech delivery good or what could make it better. He would offer encouragement and ideas for improvement in a warm and considered manner leaving the speaker with both the motivation and the wherewithal to improve.
He was always keen to help people get the most out of Speakers Club. If a member had a particular purpose for speaking (e.g. promoting a business or hobby) he would offer practical suggestions of places and groups that he thought would be interested in hearing about it.
Peter was warm, generous and kind hearted with a wonderful sense of humour. An accomplished speaker, he had enjoyed success in all the club competitions in the past but chose not to compete in the main ASC contests in latter years. He did, however, particularly enjoy the Wetherby SC After Dinner Speech Contest at the Bridge Inn where members would take on thinly disguised fictitious figures in a spoof scenario. He contributed the occasional plot himself. He won the contest in 1992, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2015 and, fittingly, is the current champion, having triumphed in March 2026. He won by extolling the virtues of Manchester as a prospective provincial seat of government – eerily prescient in light of recent events.
Peter joined WSC in 1984 because “I sat in business meetings knowing I had good ideas but didn’t have the skills to express them adequately. I noticed the better speakers were far more likely to have their ideas accepted and I wanted to be more like them.” Another benefit was that “I learned to speak at social events which was a big bonus to me. I would tell anyone thinking of joining that speakers clubs can be transformative and they should just do it.”
He often said that joining Wetherby Speakers Club was one of the best decisions he made. He contributed immensely to the club and the wider ASC, serving as Club President in 1988-89 and 2018-20 and holding a number Area and District Officer roles over the years.
Family was extremely important to Peter. His wife, Pat, would accompany him to many ASC events, including dinners, contests and occasional club meetings. His granddaughter, Ruby, was a member for several years while at school and became a proficient and talented speaker, now studying to qualify as a teacher.
Peter was a popular member of Knaresborough Golf Club and a keen member of Wetherby & District U3A where he led the Psychology Group.
Peter will be sorely missed. It is hard to believe we will not see him again at the lectern delivering a humorous topic, a thought provoking speech or an astute evaluation.
Great news – Terry Ryan won the National Speech Contest in Dundee on 25th April with his speech “Flying Lessons.”
