Phil Drabble

Phil Drabble OBE (born May 13, 1914) is an English countryman, author and television presenter. Raised in the Black Country, he later lived in - and wrote mostly about - the countryside of north Worcestershire and at Abbots Bromley in south Staffordshire, where he created a nature reserve.

He was an only child, whose mother died when he was young. His father was a GP and they lived in a terraced house in Bloxwich. He began work as a factory-lad and rose to the board of Salters and membership of the management board of the Midland Engineering Employers Association.

In 1947, he made his first radio broadcast, and in 1952 his first television appearance.

At the age of 47 he became a full-time writer. He and his wife Jess purchased a derelict cottage and 90 acres (360,000 m²) of neglected ancient woodland, a remnant of the Forest of Needwood, and preceded to turn the later into the Goat Lodge Reserve.

He has taken few holidays, has travelled abroad only a couple of times, and is proud to have never lived more than 20 miles from his place of birth.

He is best known as presenter of the long-running TV series One Man and His Dog, in which he commentated on sheepdog trials. He also wrote a newspaper column for the Birmingham Evening Mail.

He was declared Midlander of the Year in 1992 and made OBE in 1993.

Quotes

(during a particularly slow sheep drive) "Oh noo, they're startin' ter graze. That'll be points off fer sure!"

Bibliography

• The Black Country
• Staffordshire
• Weasel in My Meatsafe (1958)
• Badgers at My Window, Pelham Books, (1969)
  • reprint, Dickson Price, (1989) ISBN 085380186X
• My Beloved Wilderness, Pelham Books, (1971)
• Phil Drabble's Country Scene, Pelham Books, (1974)
• Design for a Wilderness
• Pleasing Pets (1975)
• Country Seasons (with a foreword by Johnny Morris) Michael Joseph (1976)
• One Man and His Dog Michael Joseph (1978) ISBN 0718116682
• Of Pedigree Unknown: Sporting & Working Dogs
• No Badgers in My Wood Michael Joseph (1979) ISBN 0718118537
• Country Wise (1980)
• It's a Dog's Life, Michael Joseph (1983) ISBN 0-7181-2232-1
• Country Moods, Michael Joseph (1985) - A selection of his columns for The Birmingham Evening Mail.
• What Price the Countryside?, Michael Joseph (1985)
• My Wilderness in Bloom, Michael Joseph (1987)
• A Voice in the Wilderness, Pelham Books, (1991) - Autobiography.

References

• Drabble, Phil (1992). "One Man and his Conservation Area". Birds. 14 (3): 65–68. ISSN 1367-983X. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)