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Obituary - Brian Turner
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Brian Turner
| House: |
Nicholson/Scott |
| Years: |
1947-1950 |
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On 27th February 2005, Webmaster received an e-mail from Martin Langley:
Old Cambrian stalwart, Brian Turner, passed away in Sydney on Saturday 26th February 2005 after a long illness, which he
bore with great fortitude.
Brian was educated at the Hill School, Eldoret and at the Prince of Wales School, Nairobi from 1947 to 1950 where he was in
Nicholson and then Scott house.
After emigrating to Australia with the family in the late 1960's Brian worked in marine insurance and built up a
thriving business before retiring in the late 1990's. He became an Australian citizen and was a fervent supporter of
Australian sporting teams in particular the Wallabies, NSW Waratahs and the Eastwood Rugby Club in Sydney - he was a life
member of the NSW RFU.
Brian and I became close friends during my time in Sydney in the early seventies, a bond forged through our shared
experiences at the PoW (albeit at different times), played hockey for the same team in the Sydney hockey league and shared
many happy Sunday lunches with his family at his home in the suburb of Carlingford. Brian was a true friend and a noble
human being, with deep convictions about life and how it should be conducted, coupled with a rare wisdom and mature
understanding of human nature. He was a caring and loving husband to Ann, father to Heather and Brendan and brother to
Geoffrey and Lynn, also an OC.
Brian often mentioned the great start in life that was afforded him by the PoW and was an enthusiastic and active
supporter of both the Old Cambrian Society and the Kenya Regiment Association of which he was Chairman of the Australia
branch. Brian participated in and helped organize many reunions down under, in particular, the East African Schools
picnics in Sydney, and many KRA get togethers. Brian leaves a void in his family, the OCS, KRA and East African expatriate
community in Australia. He will be greatly missed, as will his reports and contributions to the OCS website.
Martin Langley (Nicholson 1956-1961)
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- Message from Webmaster on 27th Feb 2005:
I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing away of Brian.
Brian was a great inspiration to me and encouraged me to "grow" the OCS web site right from its fledgling appearance on
the web in November 2002. He contributed many articles and photos, and was forever in the background providing advice and
encouragement. He introduced many OCs to the web site, and was a real dynamo working away for the good of the OCS all the time.
To Ann, Brendan, Heather and the rest of the family I express my sincere condolences. I will miss his regular cheery
e-mails (with that distinctive background colour!!) that were always full of information.
Steve Le Feuvre (Clive 1970-1975)
- Brian McIntosh (Rhodes 1953-1959) e-mailed on 1st March 2005:
Although he was several years older, I remember Brian quite well from 1949-50 when I used to play at his house with his
brother Lynn and yet another Old Cambrian, Neil McLeod. Our families all lived within a half mile of each other at Kabete.
- Martin Langley (Nicholson 1956-1961) e-mailed on 16th March 2005:
I thought you might like to post this photo which shows Brian and myself in the strip of Northern Districts Hockey Club in
Sydney in 1974. If I remember correctly it was taken on the day our team won the grand final and divisional championship,
hence the smiles. Brian played inside right and I was centre forward. Over the 5 or 6 seasons that we played together, we
had a friendly rivalry as to who would score the most goals. In the last two seasons, 1975 and 1976, the only two years I
have a record of, Brian scored a total of 13 goals while I scored 17. Many years later, shortly before he passed away, he
e-mailed me to say that the only reason I scored more goals than he did, was because of the excellent feed I got from the
right inner!! Brian loved his hockey and continued playing 'til he was fifty.
Brian Turner and Martin Langley
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