Funeral of 'incredible' commentator to be held

Edwin Overland covered Peterborough United for 40 years

The funeral of an "incredible man" and commentator who covered football and speedway for more than 40 years will take place later.

Edwin Overland, who joined BBC Radio Cambridgeshire in 1982, died earlier this month aged 81.

He covered hundreds of Peterborough United matches during his career, including their EFL play-off wins in 1992, 2000 and 2011.

His funeral will be held at St John's Church in Terrington St John at 14:00 BST.

Bob Burrows, one of Mr Overland's co-commentators on Posh matches, said the pair had become "very, very good friends" through more than 40 years of working together.

Paying tribute, Mr Burrows said: "He [Mr Overland] was a private man who kept himself to himself... but once you were a friend of his, what a wonderful bloke.

"In life, you do, now and again, meet people who are just extraordinary at what they do. He had that lovely tone to his voice and was meticulous in everything that he did.

"He was an incredible man and a top, top, commentator".

Mr Overland covered both football and speedway for more than four decades

Mr Overland trained as a teacher and spent 23 years as a deputy head teacher in a village near Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.

While working in education, he started commentating on football matches for emerging video companies.

He also recorded speedway commentaries and sold the tapes to the public.

When BBC Radio Cambridgeshire was launched in 1982, he sent copies of his football commentaries to the station and became the voice of Cambridge United's matches.

Among the highlights of those days were FA Cup ties against Arsenal and Crystal Palace.

He retired from football commentary in 2022 but continued with his speedway work covering King's Lynn Stars for BBC Radio Norfolk and Peterborough Panthers for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.