Eric Midwinter
Encyclopedia
Eric Midwinter MA DPhil OBE (born 1932) is an English author, broadcaster and academic. He is known as a consumer advocate, a social policy analyst, a historian of the sport of Cricket
and an expert on British comedy.
, 1992–2001.
A social historian and social policy analyst, he has enjoyed a long career in the public and voluntary service. He is a Co-founder of the University of the Third Age
and has been consultant to the Millennium Debate of the Age project and to the International Longevity Centre UK. He has been Chairman of the Health and Social Welfare Board of the Open University
, which awarded to him an Honorary Doctorate, and he was a member of the Carnegie Inquiry into the Third Age Committee. He was also a member of the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for Disabled and Elderly People and, for five years, a member of the Prince of Wales Advisory Group on Disability. He completed a European Commission study, under the auspices of Age Concern
England, into the feasibility of a Senior Euro-pass. Until 2008, he was Chairman of the Community Education Development Centre, Coventry
.
A recognized cricket historian (he was for seven years President of the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians), he is Chairman of the Cricket Society Cricket Book of the Year Award and is a biographer of W.G. Grace. He was for several years editor of the MCC
Annual, and he has prepared many notices of the lives of both cricketers and comedians for the old and new Dictionary of National Biography
. He is also known as a perceptive expert on British comedy, through, for instance, his well-received texts, Make ‘em Laugh; Famous Comedians and their Worlds and The People’s Jesters; British Comedians in the 20th Century.
Author of over fifty publications, among his latest books have been 500 Beacons; the U3A Story; the award winning Red Shirts and Roses; the Tale of the Two Old Traffords; Lord Salisbury in ‘the 20 British Prime Ministers of the 20th Century’ series; George Duckworth; Warrington’s Ambassador at Large in the ‘Lives in Cricket’ series, and Parish to Planet; How Football Came to Rule the World. The Cricketer's Progress: Meadlowland to Mumbai was awarded the Wisden Cricket Book of the Year in 2011.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and an expert on British comedy.
Life and career
Midwinter was Chairman of the London Regional Passengers Committee, the government appointed watchdog for public transport, 1977–96. He was Director of the Centre for Policy on Ageing, 1980–91, when the Centre was developing its new role as a policy institute, and is now Chairman of CPA. He was Visiting Professor of Education at the University of ExeterUniversity of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
, 1992–2001.
A social historian and social policy analyst, he has enjoyed a long career in the public and voluntary service. He is a Co-founder of the University of the Third Age
University of the Third Age
The University of the Third Age is an international organisation whose aims are the education and stimulation of retired members of the community - those in the third 'age' of life. It is commonly referred to as U3A.- France :...
and has been consultant to the Millennium Debate of the Age project and to the International Longevity Centre UK. He has been Chairman of the Health and Social Welfare Board of the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
, which awarded to him an Honorary Doctorate, and he was a member of the Carnegie Inquiry into the Third Age Committee. He was also a member of the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for Disabled and Elderly People and, for five years, a member of the Prince of Wales Advisory Group on Disability. He completed a European Commission study, under the auspices of Age Concern
Age Concern
Age Concern was the banner title used by a number of charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom....
England, into the feasibility of a Senior Euro-pass. Until 2008, he was Chairman of the Community Education Development Centre, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
.
A recognized cricket historian (he was for seven years President of the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians), he is Chairman of the Cricket Society Cricket Book of the Year Award and is a biographer of W.G. Grace. He was for several years editor of the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
Annual, and he has prepared many notices of the lives of both cricketers and comedians for the old and new Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
. He is also known as a perceptive expert on British comedy, through, for instance, his well-received texts, Make ‘em Laugh; Famous Comedians and their Worlds and The People’s Jesters; British Comedians in the 20th Century.
Author of over fifty publications, among his latest books have been 500 Beacons; the U3A Story; the award winning Red Shirts and Roses; the Tale of the Two Old Traffords; Lord Salisbury in ‘the 20 British Prime Ministers of the 20th Century’ series; George Duckworth; Warrington’s Ambassador at Large in the ‘Lives in Cricket’ series, and Parish to Planet; How Football Came to Rule the World. The Cricketer's Progress: Meadlowland to Mumbai was awarded the Wisden Cricket Book of the Year in 2011.