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Peter Hill writes:
It was with shock and sadness that his friends heard of the death of Martin Granger at the age of 73. He suffered a heart attack, alone, in the home of his mother whom he had devotedly cared for over many years. Martin had joined the BBC at the age of 19, and worked for the Overseas Service in Bush House for 33 years – as presenter, studio manager, announcer, and producer of English by Radio, teaching English over the air to thousands, if not millions of overseas listeners. He had a rich and measured voice, ideal for spoken English at the microphone. He took voluntary retirement in 1992.
Martin had several passions, each of which he kept separate from the other: one was freemasonry, and another was cricket. He was a member of the M.C.C., but he also loved playing cricket, and for several decades turned out for the Bushmen. He always fielded in the slips, and he always batted some way down the order in a stolid, and somewhat cautious style. He was not noted for quick singles. In 1996 he was presented with the club’s prized annual award, the Berle Adams Trophy, for managing to score only one run in an innings of 56 minutes. The previous season the captain noted that once he had played magnificently for a draw : “Unfortunately, we were batting first!” However in a match at Fernhurst a few seasons later he astonished his teammates by striding down the wicket in the final over and smashing the ball with uncharacteristic ferocity to win the match.
Uncharacteristic, because Martin embodied prudence, decency and old-fashioned virtues. He was an efficient organiser, who worried about getting things right, and he held many offices with the Bushmen: he was secretary for six years, and managed the difficult period during which two ballots had to be conducted on the admission of women. The first failed to achieve the necessary majority, and some senior members resigned. However in 1990 there was a clear majority for admission in the final ballot which Martin organised. He went on to be an excellent chairman of the club, and presided over its 50th anniversary dinner at the Waldorf Hotel.
Martin was a private person, who lived in a cottage in a small village near Dorchester, and was not often seen by his friends outside organised dinners and cricket matches, though he liked coming to lunch in Somerset when the team came down on their annual summer tour. He always brought a slice of Dorset Blue Vinney.
Martin was formerly married, but there were no children.
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Martin Granger (Read 12308 times)
