Former TJ Editor Debbie Carter reflects on Peter Honey’s life and his contribution to learning

Peter Honey was a columnist for TJ for many years and he was an Editor’s dream. His 700 words of wisdom dropped into my inbox once a month without need for reminder or revision. Peter’s material was well written, pertinent with very little repetition of content. Surveys of the readership consistently put his column at the top of our polls for style, content and entertainment!

“Learning is the most powerful, engaging, rewarding and enjoyable aspect of our personal and collective experience”

The popularity of Peter’s column lay in his ability to reflect on various aspects of life, personal and professional, and extrapolate nuggets of learning to pass onto the readers. A polymath, he wrote poetry, short stories and was a watercolourist who produced a calendar for many years usually to support charity. One such charity was the Prisoners Education Trust where he was a trustee for many years.

In the 1980s he worked with John Cleese at Video Arts and when I first met Peter in the late 1990s he was working with Fenman on a series of videos on learning needs. This was when the Learning Styles Manual and Questionnaires were hot topics and the videos were a huge success. In recent years this work, developed with colleague and friend Alan Mumford, has been questioned by scientific research and is used less.

In February 1999 Peter Honey along with eight other authorities on learning and behaviours published A Declaration of Learning. John Burgoyne, Bob Garrett, Ian Cunningham, Andrew Mayo, Alan Mumford, Micheal Pearn, Mike Pedler and Peter argued that leaders in organisations miss opportunities to tap into the collective learning of their people. They argued that “learning is the most powerful, engaging, rewarding and enjoyable aspect of our personal and collective experience”.  This declaration has as much importance today as it did over 26 years ago.

Hugh Murray, former managing director of Fenman and long-time friend reflects on Peter’s place in the world of L&D: “Peter Honey was a major force in the world of learning and development for more than three decades, but he was so much more than that. He was a poet, an author, an artist, a scriptwriter, an opera buff, a psychologist, a shrewd businessman, an essayist, a columnist, a serious croquet player, a Leonard Cohen fan and, to me, a friend and mentor.  A giant has left the stage, and I shall miss him.”

Peter was a big man, six three and with a booming voice, he wasn’t someone you would easily miss. I liked his bold, forthright approach to conversation – you knew when he was in a room. He had personal presence and that was probably why he was such a highly regarded speaker and facilitator.

Family was very important to Peter and featured regularly in his columns. His wife Carol was portrayed as the sensible partner in their relationship, often diffusing tense situations escalating because of Peter’s need to understand and challenge situations around him. Peter and Carol had more than their share of sadness during their married life. Their daughter Susan died aged thirteen from a previously, undetected brain malformation and more recently their 21-year-old grandson died.

Despite these personal tragedies Carol, Peter’s wife of 60 years told me that her husband was a very positive man who trusted people – his view was that he would always trust people even if he came unstuck a few times. Always a man with a pen or paintbrush in his hand, he continued to jot down notes, observations and reflections while in hospital for his final illness.

Peter died on 7 January 2025 and leaves behind his wife Carol, four children and eight grandchildren.

Debbie Carter, was formerly the Editor of Training Journal