Oyez! Town crier marks 40 years in post

Kevin Ward believes he was born to be a town crier.

"I've always been loud, I've always been theatrical," he told the BBC.

"You've got to be loud but you've got to be understood."

Forty years ago, just months after first moving to Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, he applied to be the local town crier - and has been in the post ever since.

It appears the role was in his blood - he said his great great great grandfather was the last official town crier of Birmingham.

And he first noticed he possessed a vital trait for the role himself when he was a boy.

"My parents needed a six year-old at Cadbury's theatrical society with a loud voice so they had me appearing on stage at Cadbury's," he recalled.

"It's a theatrical art form."

Mr Ward still attends between 80 to 100 events a year, turning up at everything from church fetes and competitions to council functions and Remembrance Day services.

"You are providing a service that has been provided literally for millennia," he said.

"It does go down well…particularly when you get around Remembrance, Christmas, Easter."

Memories that stand out across his career include seeing the Queen when she opened North Bromsgrove High School, her coronation, and her death.

Mr Ward said he always hoped that he would be in the job for many years and plans to carry on.

"The ancient tradition always was that a crier was appointed for life, and that the job stayed in the family... I'll just keep going, " he said.

"Almost from the start, it's been an absolutely wonderful journey, I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

"It's a hobby really, truth be known, but it's a magnificent hobby and I'm just grateful I can serve the people of Bromsgrove in the best way I possibly can."

To mark Mr Ward's 40 years in the role, the National Town Crier Championships will take place in the town on 14 June, attracting town criers from across the country.

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