Peter Bateman

Peter Bateman, former chairman and managing director of the GC Bateman group, has died aged 82 after a short battle with cancer.

Bateman, who was a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, was a past chairman of the Society of Opticians and the Optical Information Council. He joined the family optical business in 1957 and during his time with the company was responsible for adding the Horstmanns and MW Dunscombe groups, bringing the number of practices to 96 before recession in the early 1990s led to a period of consolidation.

Although not qualified as an optician, Bateman involved himself in optics, playing an important part in establishing the Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians and the Eyecare Information Service, from which the Eyecare Trust developed.