Peter Wensak was born in Esher, Surrey on 9 June 1952, the middle child of Eugene and Isabella (Ella) Wensak. Eugene was Polish, Ella was Scottish, and they had settled in Esher where Eugene was employed in horticulture until moving to Lawford, Essex so that Eugene could run his own nursery. Having studied at agricultural college prior to moving with the family to Great Bromley, Essex, Peter was already keenly working with Eugene growing celery, tomatoes, and lettuce.
Following Eugene’s retirement, Peter, now married to Julie, continued the established routine of growing round lettuce, tomatoes and celery in the glasshouses, with several added along the way, but he also developed field-scale lettuce production and rented extra adjoining land.
In the mid/late 1990s a marketing company approached Peter and asked him to trial various soft-fruit crops out-of-season in the glasshouses. Raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries were all evaluated, but it was strawberries that really seemed to work, so he focused his efforts on those alone, with the fields eventually accommodating even more glasshouses, specifically designed for the hanging gutter system which Peter played a major part in helping to develop.
Formal highlights of Peter’s career were winning the Syngenta Overall Grower of the Year Award in 2001 and recording a Sainsbury’s TV advert with Jamie Oliver. The numerous ‘informal’ highlights were the many friends, colleagues, and acquaintances that he made along the way. He was ever the optimist, hugely sociable and great fun to be around. Mainly as a pastime, but also on occasion in connection with work, Peter was a keen light aircraft pilot, had a love for English Bull Terrier dogs and was a doting grandfather. He was also extremely proud of both his Polish and Scottish heritage.
Sadly, Peter was diagnosed with dementia around 2012 and he passed away peacefully on 13 November 22 aged 70, after a short illness, at a care home in Ellesmere Port where he had moved to be nearer to his daughter Rachel. His son Ashley is employed by a large soft-fruit business in Hampshire. He will be greatly missed.