Remembering Pete Hancock

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Pete Hancock

We're very sad to report that one of our ex-trustees, Pete Hancock, who was instrumental in setting up and running BSA Scotland, passed away on 17th January 2024. His colleague and friend Frank Geoghégán-Quinn has kindly written this obituary.

I first met Pete in January 1995 when we both attended, along with around 10 others, a course called 'Stammering — Finding Your Way Forward'. It was part of the Edinburgh adult education programme and was run by a speech and language therapist called Jan Anderson. Jan would go on to play a major part in the establishment of BSA Scotland and managed it throughout its existence, contributing in many ways to the support of people who stammer. Little did I know then how much of a significant part Pete was going to play in my own life.

Attendees at the course went on to form a self-help group which I attended alongside Pete. In 1996, that self-help group formed the nucleus of the organising committee for that year's BSA National Conference, only its second ever. I can vividly recall staying up to well past 3am on the Conference's opening evening and, despite my sobriety, being outlasted by Pete who I think only went to bed after the sun began to rise that morning!

Once he settled on a course of action, there was no deterring him. This was clear in the way he dealt with his stammering. He never let it hamper or divert him in any way from setting goals and achieving his ambitions.

Pete was elected to the BSA General Committee (as it then was) for the first time in 1997 and was shortly afterwards appointed Scotland Co-ordinator. He went on to serve three terms as a trustee and his work laid the foundations for the setting up of BSA Scotland. Later, when I became its first Convenor, I was able to publicly thank Pete and pay tribute to him at the launch event in 2004 at the Edinburgh City Chambers. He earned well deserved plaudits and the lasting gratitude of many for his sterling efforts to make BSA Scotland a reality.

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Pete (right), with Frank Geoghégán-Quinn (top) and Jan Anderson (left) at the BSA Scotland branch opening, 2004

Tenacity and determination were perhaps Pete's two most obvious qualities. Once he settled on a course of action, there was no deterring him. This was clear in the way he dealt with his stammering. He never let it hamper or divert him in any way from setting goals and achieving his ambitions. A career civil servant, he retired in 2007 after having reached the top in the Scottish Government acting as a special adviser to ministers and playing a crucial part in the development of education policy. He later returned to government to advise on the implementation of Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence, such was the respect and esteem in which he was held. He dealt with a diagnosis of cancer with the same characteristic fortitude and stoicism.

In 2009 my relationship with Pete entered a whole new phase when I became his tenant and he my landlord. We enjoyed reminiscing about the BSA Scotland days and how far we had all come since that first meeting in 1995. He was never just a landlord and was more than a colleague; he became a good friend. My memories of him are very fond, filled as they are with remembrance of his warmth, kindness and sense of humour. A devoted family man, he is survived by his wife Luisa and their four grown up children. Please hold them in your prayers. I shall miss him very much.

May Pete rest in peace and rise in glory. I'm sure that he would have been delighted if those wishing to remember him would make a small donation to STAMMA in his honour or perhaps add their own memories of him to the website.

Frank Geoghégán-Quinn
Former BSA Trustee

If you knew Pete and would like to share your memories for our website, please email editor@stamma.org

Read more about BSA Scotland on our Our History page.