23/10/2025
โHe was always the absolute first port of call in a crisis or when anyone needed a second opinion.โ
Less than a month since Geoff Greetham sadly passed away, Timeform has lost another titan, Nigel Townsend, who died on Friday at the age of 58.
Much like Greetham, Townsend was a director of Timeform, having held a range of roles across his 33 years with the company. Originally, he was employed to work in the Editorial department (now Racing Analytics), joining the same week in August 1988 as another long-serving Timeform employee Simon Walker but, after the pair had shared a working trip to Haydock the following year to fill in for an absent colleague, Townsend concluded that heโd potentially be far more useful to the business in other areas.
That soon became blindingly apparent, as he initially moved seamlessly into the marketing department alongside Greetham before ending his career as Head of Operations, an apt position given that, according to Walker, โnobody in the history of the business has ever known more about all things Timeform-related. He was fully across every area and had such an assured, calm manner that, like it or not, he was always the absolute first port of call in a crisis or when anyone needed a second opinion.โ
That view is shared by Paul Muncaster, who recently marked his 40th anniversary at Timeform. He said: โIn his early days at Timeform Nigel asked me a few questions as his first role was older-horse comment writer, a position Iโd held previously. For most of the next 30-odd years I asked him questions, and he gave me all the answers I needed. Most of the time he saw to the problem I was struggling with, which was even better. As a manager and a person Nigel couldnโt be faulted.โ
So, the name Nigel Townsend might not resonate as far and wide as that of Geoff Greetham, yet his contribution to Timeform was no less impactful.
In 2020, the announcement about the end of the Timeform Annuals fell to Townsend and Greetham, both honouring those prestigious publications but just as importantly those that contributed to them, the writers, the photographers and the production team.
In that announcement Nigel wrote "Timeform has successfully refocused itself as a digital-first business", which typically undersold the significant contribution he made to 'refocus' Timeform. During that time, he worked particularly closely with Mark Powell-Bevan and Kieran Packman.
Paying tribute, Packman said: "I was privileged to steer the Timeform ship alongside Nigel for the best part of ten years. In all that time, I can't remember a cross word and I will remember that time so fondly, countless tasks that were all done with calm, skill, good humour and customary diligence. He was part of the fabric of the place and the team."
Part of the team that helped deliver on their vision was Michael Williamson, current Head of Racing Analytics and Product, who said: "Nigelโs impact on all things Timeform - from not only the end product for customers but our culture and people - was immeasurable. His thirst for knowledge but above all his kind and caring nature meant it was impossible not to learn from him."
Current Timeform Director Seb Butterworth added: โAlthough I only had the privilege of working with Nigel for a short time, his warmth, humility, and generosity were immediately clear. Over more than three decades, he helped shape Timeformโs lasting culture โ very much in his own image.โ
A testament to the man, tributes flowed in when Nigel announced his retirement in 2021, from the people he worked closely with but also those whose path he may have only briefly crossed. On reading the tributes and seeing the esteem and respect he was held in by those at Timeform, Nigel modestly remarked he subscribed to the "The Indispensable Man" doctrine.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole thatโs remaining,
Is a measure of how much youโll be missed.
A rare occasion when Nige was wrong, there is a hole, and he will be missed.
