Pipe Smoker of the Year explained

Pipe Smoker of the Year was an award given out annually by the British Pipesmokers' Council, to honour a famous pipe-smoking individual. Initiated in 1965 as Pipeman of the Year by the Briar Pipe Trade Association, it was presented at a lunch in London's Savoy Hotel each January. The award was discontinued in 2004 because its organisers feared it fell foul of laws banning all advertising and promotion of tobacco.^[1]

The award was briefly reintroduced in 2014, by the UK Federation of Pipe Clubs, at the British Pipe Smoking Championship at Newark Showground. In a departure from previous awards the recipient was not a celebrity, but the outgoing President of the UK Federation of Pipe Clubs Brian Mills, in recognition for his personal contribution in recommencing the British Pipe Smoking Championships.^[2]

Pipe Smokers of the Year

• 1964 – Rupert Davies
• 1965 – Harold Wilson^[3]
• 1966 – Andrew Cruickshank
• 1967 – Warren Mitchell
• 1968 – Peter Cushing
• 1969 – Jack Hargreaves
• 1970 – Eric Morecambe
• 1971/72 – Lord Shinwell
• 1973 – Frank Muir
• 1974 – Fred Trueman
• 1975 – Campbell Adamson
• 1976 – Harold Wilson (Pipeman of the Decade)
• 1977 – Brian Barnes^[4]
• 1978 – Magnus Magnusson
• 1979 – J. B. Priestley
• 1980 – Edward Fox
• 1981 – James Galway
• 1982 – Dave Lee Travis
• 1983 – Patrick Moore
• 1984 – Henry Cooper
• 1985 – Jimmy Greaves
• 1986 – David Bryant^[5]
• 1987 – Barry Norman
• 1988 – Ian Botham^[6]
• 1989 – Jeremy Brett
• 1990 – Laurence Marks
• 1991 – John Harvey-Jones
• 1992 – Tony Benn
• 1993 – Rod Hull
• 1994 – Ranulph Fiennes
• 1995 – Jethro
• 1996 – Colin Davis
• 1997 – Malcolm Bradbury
• 1998 – Willie John McBride
• 1999 – Trevor Baylis
• 2000 – Joss Ackland
• 2001 – Russ Abbot
• 2002 – Richard Dunhill^[7]
• 2003 – Stephen Fry^[8]

Notes and References

1. News: Annual pipe-smoker award is extinguished. Thompson. Jonathan. 2004-01-18. The Independent. Independent News and Media. 2009-10-07.
2. Web site: Brian Mills Pipe Smoker of the Year 2014. 2014. CIPC. 2023-03-02.
3. Web site: 2022-11-03 . Harold Wilson Did Have a Top Secret MI File . 2023-06-28 . Town & Country . en-US.
4. News: Interview: Brian Barnes. 23 June 2017.
5. News: 2023-06-27 . David Bryant obituary . en . 2023-06-28 . 0140-0460.
6. News: Murray . Scott . 2013-12-06 . The Joy of Six: smoking sports stars . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-06-28 . 0261-3077.
7. News: And the Pipe Smoker of the Year for 2003 is.... 2002-01-17. BBC News. 2009-10-07.
8. Web site: 2003-02-27 . Fry lights up pipe-smoking award . 2023-06-28 . Irish Examiner . en.