PETER FLEWITT October, 2013
Peter Flewitt died on Saturday,12 October, in Lismore Base Hospital New South Wales.
John Vaughan was informed of his death by his cousin Billie shortly after John had been visiting Peter in Yamba where he had become ill, and admitted first, to nearby Maclean hospital, and then to Lismore.
Peter and John had kept in touch regularly in recent years and John had met him together with Don McIntyre in 2010 in Sydney. Peter had become a 'grey nomad' travelling the length and breadth of Australia in his trailer where he had numerous cousins and family connections. He continued to keep in touch over the internet with many friends and former old boys on his cricketing and football interests (John and Peter shared an interest in Fulham), as well as adding his own sometimes caustic spin on the world. His e-mails to his Shene connections in the UK made it clear that he had a wicked sense of humour and his passing is a sad loss to the Shene fraternity.
Peter had double hip dysplasia from birth. Unfortunately it wasn't picked up early enough to avoid 5 years in hospital in a cast. In those days the treatment was pretty rudimentary; he was lucky to be able to walk at all. To add insult to injury he was involved in a major traffic smash later in life and he suffered a broken pelvis with right sided hip involvement. This happened prior to emigrating to Australia.Wear and tear and arthritis were a real curse for him.
His ashes have been scattered in Adelaide and Perth and a further scattering is planned at Kew Cricket Club in 2015.
Dr Paul Hudson (now in Melbourne, Australia)...............
For 7 years I was at Shene Grammar Schoo lwith Pete and the teenager who used to drink beer with me atRichmondpubs whilst playing snooker was very polite and quite introvert. I introduced him to the Richmond YHA Club in 1963 and we were frequently at Craven Cottage to watch Fulham FC with others from Shene. The social life and cycling weekends were a very happy time as evidenced by some of his later emails.
I lost touch with Pete after leaving school and going to University, only to find him again 42 years later in 2007 inAustraliawhere I had moved several years before him. The Pete I then found, had a rare and wonderful gift of biting humour - sarcastic, ironic, irreverent and so imaginative, honed no doubt by the intake of various alcoholic beverages. His emails were treasures to behold and often had me in fits of uncontrollable laughter.
He had a tough early life in many respects and unfortunately the world was often not as he would have wished it, but probably this very curmudgeonly outlook was responsible for the rare humorous talent that he developed. I miss him.
An e-mail to David Richardson from Richard Jones in Wilson's Promontory,Gyppsland, Victoria, Australia:
Great shock to read of Pete’s recent death. As the third of the 1958 ex-pat Aussies, my memories of Pete go back to his support for the OBs’ soccer club. Whilst we played rugby at Barn Elms in front of crowds that could be counted on one hand and often not even that, Pete could always be relied on to be supporting the soccer club, rain, hail or shine.
Interesting reading Paul’s selection of Pete’s emails – he had a interesting sense of humour and some very accurate comments on life in Australia – and his last message reflected that. For many years I read his comments on the Fulham Football Club supporters website – always provocative and, despite the distance between Australia and Craven Cottage, always intelligent, unlike much that appears on the site. And he could spell which would have been a pleasure for the likes of Snowy White and our other English teachers. He copped a lot of abuse from other contributors on the site for his views and left the site late last year,. He would be sorry to read of the Club’s current position.
I never got to meet Pete in Australia – other side of the continent, but I’m sorry to hear he’s gone – one of the good guys. less
