Barrie Meyer came to cricket by accident. Signed as a footballer by Bristol Rovers - he scored 60 times for them in 139 league matches (including one in the famous 4-0 FA Cup victory over Manchester United in 1951) and had equally useful spells with Plymouth, Newport County and Bristol City) he earned some extra cash by helping the Gloucestershire groundstaff in the summer. But it soon became apparent that he was a more than capable wicketkeeper, even if his batting was poor, and he was a regular in the county side for 15 seasons. On retiring, he immediately took up umpiring and, by his own admission, "was fairly useless for the first three years but somehow I stayed on". He grew in stature and in the 1980s was one of the most respected officials. He stood in two World Cup finals (1979 and 1983) and some memorable Tests, including Headingley 1981. In the off seasons he coached and umpired in South Africa.
Martin Williamson