Peter Crane on one of many family safaris. Image courtesy of the Crane family.

Peter Crane 04.12.35 – 20.12.20

A great servant and supporter of both English and international hockey, Peter Crane, has died at the age of 86. Peter’s hockey interest began at Whitgift School, Croydon. This was followed by his National Service when he was a commissioned officer in the Royal Artillery spending his two years of service stationed in Celle in Germany. There he played a lot of hockey and became an honorary member of Flottbeck HC. On his return to England Peter played for Purley HC where he was variously Captain and President over three decades and Chairman of the Sports Club from 1980 to 1998. His contribution was recognised by the awarding of Life Membership.

Although Peter ran a very successful surveying and property development company his activity within the hockey world was insatiable. At home, Peter was on the Surrey County Committee from 1966 to 1974, Hon. Match Secretary of the Hockey Association (HA) from 1974 to 1980 and a HA Vice President and Director of the World Cup Board from 1982 to 1986. Prior to this, Peter was responsible for developing a fascinating proposal to give hockey a permanent home at the Chiswick Polytechnic Stadium which, although planning permission was granted, never became a reality. He was awarded the HA National Award of Merit in 1987.

Alongside his domestic hockey activity Peter worked hard within the International Hockey Federation (FIH). He was elected a member of the FIH Youth Committee in 1978, becoming its Secretary from 1985 to 1988. He then became Hon. Secretary of the FIH Competitions Committee from 1988 to 2000. Very significantly, Peter was elected a member of the FIH Council in 1985 and served for more than ten years. He was a founder member of the FIH Executive Board from 1993 to 2001. During his time with the FIH Peter attended four Olympic Games as Technical Director and he received the FIH Order of Merit in 1994.

Back in England, he was the Chairman of the National Hockey Stadium Project Group which delivered hockey’s purpose-built stadium, from 1992 to 1998. One of Peter’s lasting legacies was as the commissioner and financier of the ‘Hockey Family’ statue (right) which stood outside our National Hockey Stadium at Milton Keynes until its closure. The statue now stands at Beeston Hockey Club and remains one of very few pieces of real art relating to our sport and is certainly one of the best.

Mike Smith
28.01.2021

A Family Sport (aka the Hockey Family statue), a sculpture by Chris Boulton. Image credit: Clem Rutter (Wikimedia).