It is with great sadness that I have to report the passing of one of our members Peter Allen. We received the news from his son James that Pete passed away on Thursday, the day of his 60th birthday. In his tribute to his Dad James said "It’s
with deep sadness I’m sorry to announce my Dad passed away peacefully
last night after his battle with Motor Neurone Disease. Never in
my life did I meet anyone with a bad word to say about my Dad, he was so
warmly met and loved everywhere I went with him. He was a funny, kind,
selfless and humble man. His personality touched a lot of lives with him
being widely regarded as a legend by anyone who knew him. No one could ask for a better father, role model and best friend".
Anyone who had the pleasure of meeting Pete will agree wholeheartedly with James' words. In addition to being a lovely man, he was also a very good cricketer. As a wicket keeper he was one of the best I've played with or against in a long career particularly when he was standing up to the stumps. Pete was a northerner and played most of his higher level cricket in Lancashire for Bury. He was also a staunch supporter of Bury FC.
When Pete moved down South he probably thought his cricket playing days were over but on one fateful day in May 2010 Pete went for a drink at the Walkabout pub in Watford to watch England play Australia in the World T20 Final. Whilst there he got chatting to some lads from Shenley and after a few pints was tempted into coming down to the club for a practice. From that day Pete was affectionately known as 'Walkabout Pete'.
I remember meeting Pete at his first training session and he was understandably a little rusty but you could see the talent was there. He was aged 51 at the time and after starting off with a few games for the 3rd XI Pete quickly established himself as a vital member of the 2nd XI team. He was an integral part of the 2014 promotion side, playing every game, and also the 2015 team that just missed out on promotion. He made useful contributions with the bat, scoring 2 half centuries, but he will be mostly remembered for his superb wicket keeping. In 2014 he took 12 stumpings many of those standing up to quicker bowlers. He was comfortably the best keeper in the Division and I suspect one of the best in the whole League. We never got to see Pete play in his prime and I can only imagine how good he was then.
In the past few seasons Pete played less regularly due to a mixture of ageing body, work and family commitments. When he wasn't playing he was still a regular at the club watching as much cricket as he could and staying for a drink after the game. His last game was in 2017 against Kings Langley when he announced his retirement as he walked off the pitch after being run out. He had been thinking about retirement for a couple of years but was talked out of it on a number of occasions. This time I knew he meant it. He realised his body was starting to let him down and it wasn't long after that his struggles with Motor Neurone Disease began. He was still seen regularly at the club, often with his beloved son James, and was always his usual cheerful and sociable self. The last I saw of Pete was in early August when he attended the Merv Hughes game. By now he was in a wheelchair and clearly struggling, although he still managed to attend the 1st XI game the following week. He sent a Facebook message to the Club a couple of weeks later saying "It's unlikely I'll be able to get down to the club again. It's been a privilege to be part of Shenley, great club, great ground
and above all great people, Thanks for letting me be the token
Northerner! Good luck for the last games. Walkabout Pete".
For me it was an honour to have known Pete and played cricket with him. I enjoyed his company enormously and his performances on the field will live long in my memory. A true Shenley legend.
Rest in Peace Pete.
Geoff Evans
26/01/2019