I was never lucky enough to meet Peter but know his beautiful daughter Helen through our mutual love of ex-battery hens and passion for animal welfare. There are millions of farm animals across the globe whose lives are vastly improved because of this wonderful, gentle and compassionate man. There could be no better legacy xxx

To my gorgeous Dad, Five weeks today, Philip & I will be married; on Easter Saturday. I have 2 wishes; the 1st is that you could come back for one single day to share our happiness, the 2nd is that you had known that Phil & I are together and I know you would be over the moon. You always adored Phil (and visa versa) & would have loved to have seen us together & known how immensely happy I am. I am so sad to have not been able to share this with you; it was not to be, you left this world a year before Phil & I got together. We are having a weekend of celebrations, with our wedding in a beautiful barn, followed by Luke's 13th birthday, the very next day on Easter Sunday. Luke will stand in for you on my wedding day & walk me down the aisle & give me away to Phil; I am so privileged that he really wants to take on this role in your absence. Miss you so much, as we all do; Luke very much so too. Think of you every day. love "Helemy"; your "baby of the family"; xxxx

I never had the privilege of meeting Peter, but those that knew him well speak incredibly highly of him. He touched many lives, and through Compassion in World Farming, his remarkable legacy continues to bring positive change in the world. As a vegan, I also feel an incredible sense of gratitude for Peter’s courage and his dedication to the cause of animal welfare. In the early 1960s, when even so-called animal welfare organisations refused to campaign against veal crates and battery cages, I can’t imagine the scale of the challenge and the mettle needed to have started these campaigns. I can’t think of a higher compliment than to say the world is a much better place for having had Peter in it. He is very sadly missed. Paul Blanchard

In 1976 I was lucky to be introduced to Peter Roberts, co-founder with his wife Anna of Compassion In World Farming, who took an enormous risk by employing me as the group’s second full-time employee. I was a vegan aged 21 who had abandoned his career in hotels and restaurants. Although I had no prior experience, I became CIWF’s campaigns organiser and found myself for the first time producing newsletters, tabling at public events, helping to organise local groups and even investigating the live export of farmed animals to France. I knew from my two years with CIWF that I had found my calling. I have worked for animal welfare in the UK and US ever since. I am forever grateful to Peter and Anna for the opportunity they gave me. They taught me a great deal. It was an enjoyable experience, too. Kim Stallwood kim@kimstallwood.com www.kimstallwood.com

I knew Pwter before Compassion began when I was treasurer of The ~Farm & Food Society. He had the idea of getting some of the animl welfare societies to work together and devote each year to one specific goal. I helped him, but it didn't work - animal welfare people are generally too individualistic to co-operate in this way. He was a lovely man: idealistic, practical and kind. That he was almost a double for Richard Burton was a bonue! Compassion in World Farming is a wonderful fulfilment of his manyu talents and virtues. Yvonne Anderson, Thornworthy, Chagford, TQ13 8EY

Peter. i shall always respect your special respect for all those who share our sentience. You were the good shepherd. John Webster

I first met Peter in the late 1970s when I was working for the RSPCA.Little did I know then that I would be working for Compassion in World Farming from 1992-2001 and again from 2007-2010. I am so lucky to have known Peter for so many years. He was both ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary in the sense of being a straightforward guy with a great sense of humour and devoted to his family. Extraordinary because he had the vision to establish Compassion against all the odds.Like all great reformers he was ridiculed at first but today his legacy, and that of his wife Anna, is there for all to see and millions of farm animals worldwide are reaping the benefit. John Callaghan

love u adda from lukexxx

It was an honour to have known Peter. Rare enough that one man should combine such integrity, vision and energy but being from the farming industry, he could criticise and suggest alternatives with authority. He was also able impart encouragement to others. When The Real Meat Company launched in 1986, we were thought to be nutters and with no commercial future. Peter and his team offered advice, support but, most of all, encouragement. There is no doubt that his legacy, CIWF, filled a huge gap in awareness of the problems and the available solutions in terms of farm animal welfare. Richard Guy. Co-founder of The Real Meat Company

I worked with Peter at CIWF from 1978-83. What I remember most was the hostility that the organisation - and Peter in particular - endured at that time. It wasn't like today, where the ethos of Compassion in World Farming has a degree of acceptance and respectability. The Ministry of Agriculture (now DEFRA), was rude and contemptuous, as was the farming press. I remember going with him, when he gave a talk at the Royal College of Agriculture in Cirencester. The audience was brimming with aggression at the start, but he had this great way of speaking with authority and conviction, but at the same time being warm and engaging. I don't think he won that many over to his views that night, but he certainly made them respect him. The great thing about Peter was that he had courage as well as vision

Peter remains an inspiration to all of us working at Compassion in World Farming. I sadly never met Peter but his vision lives on in all that we do.