Kenneth Wolstenholme - an avid golfer

Sad to hear yesterday of the death of Kenneth Wolstenholme, aged 81.

Though best known for his 13 seconds of commentary in the dying stages of the 1966 World Cup between England and Germany, he helped raised thousands of pounds for charity through golf events he supported.

Through golf and as an official of the national association of golf societies, he also backed charities for war veterans and their families having been a bomber pilot in World War Two and been decorated with a DFC.

We played together in 1999 at Portmarnock Hotel, the course designed by Bernhard Langer near Dublin, when he sported a handy 18 handicap and apologised for diving behind the sand dunes at regular intervals to relieve a weak bladder.

But, somewhat breathless, he always caught up and between shots and at dinner he regailed us with anecdotes from the commentary box in that deep, rich, familiar voice and never missed the chance to tell us that he demanded royalties from the BBC, but rarely got them, every time they used his famous recording.

He was in the process of informing his lawyers when we met, for a slice of the action of the soon to be serialised ‘They think it’s all over’ quiz show.

Thankfully, later he was much in demand for advertisement voice-overs and providing commentary on video games.

‘It’s Hurst…some people in the crowd are on the pitch; they think it’s all over. It is now…it’s four!’ made an indellible impression on so many of us and he will be sorely missed.