Barnard Castle pays tribute to Peter Elliott

Hundreds of tributes have been paid to a much-loved Barnard Castle man who died suddenly this summer.

Peter Elliott was a hugely popular member of the community and could be seen walking around the town with his guide dog Elmo virtually every day, rain or shine.

Born and raised in Barnard Castle, he died at his home on Zetland Road on July 29 aged 73 and the news has shocked and saddened his family and many friends and acquaintances.

Peter’s sister Maureen Wardle, who lives in Dawson Road, has been inundated with messages of condolence.

“We’re all still in shock but it’s been amazing, we’ve had so many cards from people saying how they are going to miss him talking about football and telling jokes,” she told the Mercury.

“Everyone has said how much they are going to miss him.”

Peter was born blind in one eye and had severely impaired vision in the other.

He was diagnosed with glaucoma and had to board at a school in Southport and then Coventry due to his partial blindness.

After leaving school he managed to secure a job at Glaxo, first as a gardener, before working in the factory canteen.

Maureen remembered how Peter would ride his bike to the factory on Harmire Road, despite his poor eyesight.

“He used to go to work on his push bike and he never used to look when he crossed over the road because he could hardly see!” she said.

“We tried all ways to stop him riding that bike, we thought he was bound to have an accident.”

However, as his sight worsened he was forced to leave Glaxo in the mid-1980s and eventually he had to have his “good” eye removed.

As a consequence he was totally blind but despite that handicap he managed to retain his upbeat personality.

“He said, ‘I’ve been lucky, at least I saw the colours, people’s faces, everything’,” his niece Glenys Wardle said.

“He was always upbeat, he never got down, it never bothered him.

“He actually said, ‘I’d rather be blind than deaf’.”

Despite his blindness, Peter enjoyed a full social life and loved nothing more than chatting with the many people he encountered during his daily routine.

Maureen said he had the remarkable ability to recognise people who spoke to him by the tone of their voice or by the smell of their perfume.

He also helped to raise thousands of pounds for charity over the years, taking part in many fun runs and other events, and was a founder member of the Clique.

A creature of habit, Peter started his day by spending the morning at Peter’s Place café.

“He was down here from 8 o’clock in the morning until 11 o’clock every single day,” said Sharon Sutherland, who works in the café.

“He would have table five, Elmo would know exactly where to take him, and he would have umpteen drinks and something to eat.

“He even had his own cup.

“Peter was hilarious, he made loads of friends with the people who used to come into the café.

“We would have the radio on and he knew the details of every song from every year.

“It was a major shock to us all to hear he’d passed away and a big shock to this town.”

Peter was a huge Newcastle United fan and for many years attended games at St James’ Park thanks to his friend Adrian Dowson, who lives at Battle Hill, near Cotherstone.

“You had to give him a running commentary,” said Adrian.

“It was hard, you don’t realise how difficult it is for commentators until you do it for yourself!”

It was during their trips to the football that Peter met the legendary England, Liverpool and Newcastle footballer Kevin Keegan, who was the United manager at the time.

“Peter got a new guide dog and as a publicity stunt for the Guide Dogs charity he got to go through and meet Kevin Keegan on a matchday,” explained Adrian.

“He went into the changing rooms and met all the players as well.

“By the sounds of it he started giving the players a pre-match lecture!”

More recently, Adrian would take Peter out for a weekly drink.

“Every Sunday night I used to pick him up in Barney and take him to the Red Lion, in Cotherstone, it was a chance to get him out of Barney.

“He was very outgoing, you could go into a pub you had never been in before with Peter and by the time you came out he’d have talked to everybody in there.”

Peter trained to have a guide dog in the early 1990s and Elmo, his most recent dog, has been retired and has gone to live with his close friend Graham Smith, who took him out for a drink every Friday night and would take him shopping.

“Graham and his wife Angela were really great friends of Peter’s, they did so much for him over the years and they really, really cared,” said Maureen.

“They always invited him to their home for Christmas, parties and get-togethers, they never left him out.

“If he needed anything for the house, Graham would go and buy it for him such as a TV and a tumble drier and he was planning to buy Peter’s new cooker for him just before he died.”

On hearing the news of Peter’s death, a Guide Dogs spokesman said: “We were saddened to hear of Peter’s recent passing.

“It was a privilege to support him for nearly four decades, during which time he was partnered with five guide dogs, each of whom played an incredibly important part in his life.

“Together, Peter and his guide dogs enabled him to live life on his own terms and maintain the daily routine that made him such a familiar and well-loved figure in Barnard Castle.

“Our thoughts are with Peter’s family, friends and all those who knew him at this sad time.”