Obituary: Gordon Brudenell (Staff QM 1960-94)

Gordon at Queen Mary’s Grammar School

Gordon was born in Alfreton, Derbyshire to his parents Annette and Edgar Brudenell. He was followed a few years later by his sister.

The family moved to Jacksdale, Nottingam where Gordon attended the local school before passing his 11+ and travelling by bus to Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Mansfield.

Gordon was an avid cricket fan from an early age and, frequently, his long- suffering sister attended cricket matches and was implored to provide refreshments. Indeed, his love of cricket was so great that in later years his index finger joint twisted as a result of bowling practice. The family christened it his “Chesterfield Finger” after the famous tower and much amusement was had by pretending no-one was sure which direction he was pointing in when he used the finger for directions.

After grammar school, Gordon attended Nottingham University and completed his Batchelor of Science in physics. He was a great champion of physics (the one true science in his opinion!) and believed it provided the answers to everything in life. The location of the University also allowed him the opportunity to spend many a happy hour at Trent Bridge watching his beloved cricket.

During this time, he made firm friends with his future brother-in-law and, through this friendship, met Betty. He was social secretary for the university and was instrumental in organising the University’s Graduation Ball.

Betty and Gordon’s wedding followed and they started married life in Bristol, working at Bristol Aerospace undertaking research on Bloodhound missiles.

They then moved to Sutton Coldfield and their family was completed following the birth of Jackie, and later, Joanne.

Gordon started teaching Physics at Queen Mary’s Boys’ Grammar School Walsall in 1960 and swiftly became a year master. He contributed to the wider school life through residentials at Farchynys, Bridge Club, field trips and fundraising. One of the highlights of the residentials was introducing first-time visitors to the joys of “Round the Table Table Tennis.” Of the few rules, one was that you could not use a bat. Instead, students and staff employed saucepan lids, ladles, pots and pans in order to play the shot. It was an immensely popular and noisy game and a Farchynys tradition. Gordon was a contributor to Paul Christopher Walton’s book about “Marians on the Mawddach.”

His time at the school was very special to Gordon and he was a proud advocate for the school and its provision for the pupils in its care.  He was a valued year master and after his retirement still received thanks, whenever he met them, for the support and guidance they had received. When he retired from Queen Mary’s after 34 years, his fifth form pupils presented him with a carriage clock engraved with the phrase, “Year master and friend,” which neatly encapsulated his success in this role.

Even after his retirement as Head of Physics, he maintained his interest in the school through attending Annual Dinners organised by Queen Mary’s Club. He continued to attend speech day and the Carol Service until recent years. 

Family life was spent enjoying the country around them. In the early years, a caravan was purchased at the foot of Snowdon and many ascents were made to the summit on Snowdon’s various paths. Unfortunately for Gordon, some of these were made with a small, complaining daughter on his shoulders- a burden he carried fairly willingly.  Later on, great use was made of the family camper van for weekends and holidays. Devon was a popular choice for the family and became an annual event. Gordon was very interested in the boats and shipping and frequently mused over a boat he might buy. The Vesselfinder app was a particular favourite and he enjoyed finding out the cargo, length, and destination of shipping.

On his retirement, Gordon elected to learn new skills and enrolled himself in a ukulele class and the Tuneless Choir. Attendance at both of these really pushed him out of his comfort zone as he was inherently quite shy and not prone to exhibitionism. His attendance at a silversmithing class was a particular favourite with all the family and a rota of commissions was soon established, as he proved himself skilled in this area. Gordon had always enjoyed German whilst at school himself and although he had a secure knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, he wanted to be more confident when speaking German. He duly enrolled in the U3A and attended two separate German groups both of which afforded him much pleasure. He very much enjoyed the friendships made in all of these clubs.

Gordon was vey proud when both daughters got married and welcomed his son in-laws to the family. He was delighted when his grandson, Christopher was born to his eldest daughter and her husband.

He passed away on 3rd January 2022 following a brief stay in hospital.

Amongst those who attended Gordon’s funeral were Stuart Holtam, Tim Swain, Tim Lawrence, Steve Law and Judy McCoy who represented the Queen Mary’s Club. There were also a number of alumni who paid their respects. Gordon’s daughter Jo has said that there was £566.00 collected for Midlands Air Ambulance, so thank you if you contributed towards this sum.

Memories of Gordon, written by Paul Walton, is published on his Marians on the Mawddach website and can be found here:

https://mariansonthemawddach.com/2022/02/07/gordon-brudenell/