Peter Craigmyle

Peter Craigmyle (1 January 1894 – 21 November 1979) was revered by many to be Scotland's greatest football referee of the 20th century. Born in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Peter William Craigmyle and Isabella Barclay Craigmyle, née McWilliam.

His own playing aspirations were dashed after breaking both his legs in 1916, but he was encouraged to take up refereeing by the Aberdeen FC manager at the time.

In the 1920s he had a weekly programme on a local radio station 2BD. He travelled to Malta and the Faroe Islands lecturing and refereeing and was known as the "fearless Aberdonian."

In a refereeing career spanning over 31 years, he earned many honours and accolades.

He refereed almost every senior cup final in Scotland and Ireland as well as many Old Firm matches. Craigmyle is known to have officiated 26 international matches during the period from 1924 to 1946. He refereed three Scotland-England international matches, at Hampden Park in 1941, 1943 and 1946.

His book A Lifetime of Soccer was published in 1949 by Aberdeen Journals and was republished in 2021 by his great-nephew. A website www.petercraigmyle.com and a new publication The Remarkable Story of Peter Craigmyle - The Fearless Aberdonian, launched in 2023 provides further insight, quoting over 700 press articles and features from 1919 to 2011.