‘A wonderful man who will be sorely missed’
PEOPLE whose lives were touched by Brian paid their own tribute via the Express Facebook page and email. ●● PAT Hills worked with Brian when she was news editor at the Express.
She said: “Brian was my hero. I worked with him and loved him as a friend as well as admiring him as a true professional.
“Brian had three loves in his happy life – his family, his career and Macclesfield. And all three loved him back with a passion. Brian was a great teller of true stories. You’d always know when Brian had turned up at a party. He was where the crowds were; entertaining his audiences with his funny anecdotes.
“Oddly enough Brian was a quiet unassuming, modest gentleman. It was the people who sought him out, not the other way around.
“Kind and generous to a fault, Brian was a kingpin of Macclesfield’s community, a local pioneer of brilliant photography and just a really decent human being. He was, and always will be, a legend.” ●● FAMILY friend David Broadhead said: “I’ve known Brian and Margaret for just over 30 years. They made a great team and were inseparable.
“He was a kind and selfless man who would help anyone. I remember one time many years ago when we were both stood outside his shop on Queen Victoria Street when a gentleman was struggling to push his wheelchair-bound wife up the steep hill towards town, as everyone else walked passed them Brian jumped in and pushed her up the hill without a second thought.
“Brian had the best thing that any man could possibly have – a kind and generous heart and love for his family and friends which was unconditional and timeless.
“He was a wonderful man who I am proud to have known and will be sorely missed but never forgotten by those he touched.” ●● AMONG the many thousands of Brian’s customers was Paula Holmes.
She said: “I married my husband in 1979 and moved to Macclesfield where we lived for 13 years. Brian was a constant in many lives, including ours.
“His wonderful photos of me with my little son have followed us across the Atlantic from Pennsylvania to St Augustine, Florida.
“They have always been on display in our home. He has left a beautiful legacy not only consisting of photographs but of a fine family.” ●● FELLOW photographer Frances Dumbleton crossed paths with Brian many times. She said: “However old he became I still thought of him as that naughty boy always making me laugh and getting in to mischief.
“Often at Kodak meetings or conferences he would sit near me and when a complicated technical issue came up he would always delight in explaining it with a big grin on his face.
“He was so generous with his time and knowledge and I remember thinking that as much as I tried I would never make such a talented, entrepreneurial and creative photographer.” ●● FORMER Express editor Doug Pickford said: “Macclesfield will miss him. A mighty good man. One of the best.” ●● DENISE Hughes expressed her shock and said: “He was a terrific guy as well as a really fantastic artist. “Could put the most camera-shy subject at ease.”