Honouring tributes poured in from the world of sport, when tennis commentator Gerald Williams – known for his Christian stance – passed away at the age of 86 on 21 January.
Welsh-born, his early years were divided between Carmarthenshire and Surrey. His first job in journalism was with the Croydon Advertiser. It was not long after BBC commentator Harry Carpenter introduced him as a sports sub-editor for the Daily Mail, that tennis began to take over. Although no outstanding player himself, Gerald’s perceptions of court play and his superb voice projection came eventually to win him the acclaim of BBC’S Brian Johnstone, Bill Threlfall and Cliff Morgan (who became his boss). Dan Maskell was to invite him into the Wimbledon commentary box. Open Tennis was taking over, and – with the increasing speed of play - Max Robertson’s ball-by-ball approach would give way to Gerald’s more laconic style of coverage.
The evening Wimbledon Highlights programme – under Gerald and devoted anchorman Des Lynam – entranced TV viewers for no less than ten years. Chris Gorringe, former CEO of the All England Club, now confides, I always maintained that he and Des Lynam did the best highlights programme of Wimbledon in their ‘Des and Gerry’ show during the fortnight.
