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It is my privilege today to have the opportunity to celebrate Brian’s life and lasting influence on all those who knew him, family, friends and colleagues. We are all here today as a testament to the love and esteem which he inspired in everyone he knew. I knew him for 30 years but many of you will have known him considerably longer. Although there is inevitably sadness, I know that more than anything Brian would want us to celebrate a long and fulfilled life.
Brian had a strong sense of connection with his roots and places around which he had built his life. He had a passion for family history and spent much time in retirement researching his own family history and that of others. Many of you will have watched the television series “Who do you think you are?” which has contributed to a growth of interest in exploring family history. A common thread is how little many of us know about even the lives of our grandparents and certainly great grandparents. Brian’s self-taught computer skills and knowledge of family history resources enabled him to create a family tree with great skill and speed. Fortunately, his endeavours mean that there is an excellent record of his own life and family history which will be carefully preserved and I am sure valued by his children and grandchildren.
Brian had a long and fulfilled life and it would take a great deal of time to do justice to it all. I am fortunate to have the chance to paint an outline.
Brian was strictly speaking a Londoner, born in Woolwich and starting life in Plumstead but he thought of himself more as a country boy, having grown up in rural Cambridgeshire. His father’s work moved the family out of London in August 1933. They lived in a rented cottage next to the river and the main railway line, in the hamlet of Dernford, south of Cambridge. At the age of 7, Brian suffered a bout of double pneumonia. In those pre-antibiotic days he was perhaps fortunate to make a full recovery. Subsequently, he was sent to a convalescent home near Eastbourne for several weeks. Brian spent the period of the Second World War as a schoolboy. He attended the local primary school and later Cambridge and County High School. His headmaster was Brinley Newton-John, father of the singer Olivia Newton John. He remembered one of his schoolmates holding her as a baby!
In 1947 Brian obtained a place to study engineering at Nottingham, then officially part of the University of London. He graduated in 1949. Bearing in mind his life-long love of cats, it is of interest that he recalled acting as an usher and meeting TS Eliot at the ceremony when Nottingham University finally gained its independence from London.
Brian was always proud of being an engineer. After graduation, he began work at the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company and remained there for the rest of his career only interrupted by two years of National Service in the RAF. He worked at the Great Baddow site until 1970, when he moved to Writtle Road, opposite here. He had trips to Kuwait, Iran and Cyprus, where he recalled drinking coffee in the Troodos Mountains in November in shirt sleeves as it was so mild. During his long career with Marconi, he made many lasting friends. This is evidenced by the number of affectionate tributes we have received from former colleagues. They attest to his sense of humour and warmth. He became a member of MOGS, the Marconi Old Geezers Society, meeting for regular reunions in the Orange Tree pub in Chelmsford. We hope you will be able to join us there afterwards, where there is a display of photographs illustrating the whole span of Brian’s life.
It was on the school bus that he met Bridget, in around September 1945, when he was 16 and she was 15. They married in June 1956 and settled in Chelmsford. They bought their home in Great Baddow in 1963, which became the family home and where Brian lived for the rest of his life. They of course went on to have three children, Nicola, my wife, Andrew and Linda. Most sadly Bridget became very ill and passed away in early 1981. Naturally this was a very difficult time for the whole family and Brian had to cope with helping the children to come to terms with their loss and supporting them through their adolescence and growing up. I am sure you will all agree that they are a credit to his devotion to them. In later life he was very proud of his three grandchildren, Alice, Ben and Jake.
Brian retired from Marconi in 1991. He had a long and happy retirement pursuing his love of family history and interest in computers. He became a respected resource to those experiencing technological mishaps, obtaining great satisfaction from putting things right and sometimes from a good bottle of wine received in gratitude.
Brian always enjoyed watching sport on television, particularly Formula 1, rugby and snooker.
During retirement Brian built up a strong friendship with Elizabeth Sellers, after she was sadly widowed in the early 1990s. They had known each other since university and their friendship blossomed further in later life. Unfortunately, Elizabeth can’t be here today because of ill health but is represented by her niece, Jill. Brian and Elizabeth shared many interests such as crosswords, classical music and cats. Cats are sometimes considered to be selfish creatures with a tendency to bestow their affection on those willing to adopt them. Brian and Elizabeth made friends with many cats who undoubtedly had perfectly good homes elsewhere but chose to spend time with them to receive extra attention. Regular feline visitors were given names such as Mr Merry and Golden Boy, which would probably come as a surprise to their owners.
Brian and Elizabeth also shared many happy holidays exploring the UK, staying in beautiful parts of the country and visiting many places of interest.
Brian was fortunate in being able to maintain his independence throughout his life being able to stay in his own home which he highly valued. He was lucky to have the support of great neighbours who tended his garden and generally looked out for him. He had a passion for cars and driving, following on from an interest in motor cycles earlier in life. In the early 1970s he had marshalled at Snetterton race track near Thetford. Luckily Brian was able to continue driving until quite recently.
Brian enjoyed some wonderful days with family in retirement. His 80th birthday party was a particularly fond memory. In 2012, there was a great day out with Brian at the London Olympics, including all three grandchildren. This was a superb day for all of us and included a chance to see Usain Bolt running in a heat.
I will always remember Brian as a kind, gentle, stoical person with a great sense of fun. I mentioned earlier that we have received a lot of touching messages from friends and former colleagues and I shall end with one which I think sums Brian up well, as we celebrate his life and give thanks for it.
This is from a colleague,
“He was one of the nicest people you could wish to encounter. I will remember him as a true gentleman in a less aggressive technical world where courtesy still counted. It isn’t like that today, that’s for sure. Rest in peace Brian.”