Renowned Liverpool hairdresser Peter Collinge has passed away.
The 92-year-old passed away peacefully on Monday morning having recently recovered from the coronavirus but his family said that the virus ‘took its toll’.
Collinge began hairdressing in 1942 aged 14 and joined the family business in West Derby six years later after a spell on the Mauretania cruise ship.
He won a number of competition in his field both in the UK and Europe during the 1950s alongside opening his first salon in Liverpool city centre in 1954.
Peter Collinge salons expanded throughout Merseyside in the late 1960s before branching out into Chester and Manchester from 1990.
He was awarded an OBE in 2012 for services to hairdressing and training while also serving as life president of the salon group, now called Andrew Collinge.
In a statement on Twitter, his son Andrew said: “Sadly my father passed away peacefully in his sleep during the early hours this morning.
“He had recently beaten Covid-19 but the virus took its toll on his general health and at the grand old age of 92 he was unable to recover.
“The family would like to say that during these past weeks he has only had the most wonderful care from the NHS and the dedicated nursing teams looking after him.
“Dad was a great person and he loved life. He was blessed to have many friends and we all loved his entertaining stories and his gregarious nature.
“He loved the craft of hairdressing, the creativity, the clients and colleagues and enjoyed visiting the salons and keeping us on our toes.
“He was a brilliant hairdresser and educator – his legacy lives on throughout our salons and training school.
“Dad was a visionary in the hairdressing world and greatly respected.
“His commitment to training and ensuring successful ongoing careers to thousands of young people throughout the North West and beyond was recognised when he received an OBE in 2012 for services to hairdressing and training.
“He was a devoted husband to the late Hazel and a wonderful father, grandfather and great grandfather and will be hugely missed.”