Tony Pocock, who has died at the age of 80, was a member of that outstanding generation of publishers and booksellers that included William Collins, Christina Foyle, the Blackwell brothers, Una Dillon, Andre Deutsch and Allen Lane. As sales director at the Oxford University Press (OUP), and later at Faber and Faber, he played a significant role in expanding British book sales overseas - though he also never let his attention wander from the home trade.
Born in Bombay, where his father was an accountant, Tony first became interested in the world of books while at Marlborough College, which had its own printing press. He went on to St Edmund Hall, Oxford, to read English under the wartime Y-scheme and, following a brief excursion into the theatre, saw action in Sicily and on the D-Day beaches with the Royal Marines.
After two years with the British Council in Amsterdam, where he married his first wife Henriette Estourige, in 1951 Tony took a job with OUP, and was set to work on what became the extraordinarily successful Oxford Junior Encyclopedia. Promoted to sales manager, he was soon out and about with his representatives, discovering the problems of booksellers large and small.
Tony quickly realised how little was being done to promote British books abroad, and he showed exceptional foresight in recognising the longterm potential in eastern Europe, where the thirst to learn English was great, even in the coldest of cold war days. The sight of him tirelessly and cheerfully doing the rounds of the Belgrade book fair put other export managers to shame, and it was no surprise when he became chairman of the Publishers Association's European working party. Later, he travelled widely in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
At home, Tony began to see that several important bookshops were in danger of going out of business, due to the retirement of their owners or increases in rent and rates. So, in 1964, he persuaded the Blackwells directors to join OUP in inviting such firms to come under the umbrella of a new company, University Bookshops Oxford Ltd (UBO). Shops in Manchester, Liverpool, York, Sheffield, Aberdeen and elsewhere quickly joined.
The UBO experience confirmed Tony's belief that much was not well with bookselling, and he took a leading part in the formation of the Booksellers Association charter group, which devoted itself to improving standards of service in the trade. He also became the first chairman of the book trade working party, which foresaw many of the challenges and possibilities of computerisation.
In 1972, booksellers and publishers alike welcomed the news of Tony's marriage to Kate Kellett-Carding. Kate was already well known for her work in the Booksellers Association, OUP, and latterly as European sales director of Yale University Press, a post she continues to hold.
Then came an unexpected development. In 1974, OUP decided to move its London operation to Oxford. Tony was not keen to leave the capital - and the trade found it difficult to imagine OUP without him - but he immediately got an offer from Faber and Faber which was difficult to refuse. He relished the challenge of moving from academic to commercial publishing, and was soon promoted to company vice-chairman.
Tony's cheerful energy was undoubtedly his most remarkable gift. Even in semi-retirement, he continued to do editorial work for various pub lishers, including Kingswood and Methuen. He was especially happy to work on sports, notably on rugby league. But he was a rugby union man at heart, had played hockey for Oxford University and was, at one time, a director of Charlton Athletic FC.
In the last couple of years, his mobility faltered, but he continued to attend the opera, cinema, orchestral concerts and rugby union matches. During this period, I accompanied him to the famous match last year when England beat Romania at Twickenham by the highest margin ever recorded in an international game. After the match, the crowd was so large that no car or taxi could get near the stadium, and the bus queue was an hour long.
"I'll deal with this," said Tony in his most peremptory tone. With considerable difficulty, he led me to the head of the queue, where a distinctly unattractive group was waiting for the next bus. "Let two ancient fans get on the next one," he shouted imperiously. The youths looked at each other quizzically, and then suddenly made way for us. As they helped us on to the bus, Tony gave them his cheeky and disarming smile. "Good luck, mate," they all shouted.
He was made an OBE in 1972, and is survived by Kate, and the children of his first marriage, Caroline and Christopher.
· Anthony Thomas George Pocock, publisher, born October 3 1922; died February 14 2003
