Football and rugby fan who was a proud father
ELECTRICIAN AND TALENTED HANDYMAN BRYAN LOVED A JOKE AND HAD MANY PASSIONS IN LIFE, BUT NONE MORE SO THAN HIS LARGE FAMILY
FAMILY man Bryan English was devoted to his childhood sweetheart Ella, who went on to become his wife of more than 60 years. Bryan used to tell his five children that: “They broke the mould when they made your mum,” but Susan, Julie, David, Jacqueline and James, would say exactly the same about their beloved father. As Susan, 59, from Rhyl, explains: “He was quite simply our hero.” One of Susan’s favourite memories was watching her dad holding court with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren at the double celebration the family held for his 80th birthday and his and Ella’s diamond wedding anniversary back in 2018. “Dad was an incredibly handy person who could fix anything, but he was particularly proud of the Bryan was originally from Salford, still had his Mancunian accent and was a life-long Manchester United supporter. He was equally as proud of his adopted country Wales though, and supported the Welsh and English rugby teams. He met Ella while working as an apprentice electrician, having lodged in the house next door to where she lived. They married on his 20th birthday in 1958, and moved several times before settling in Prestatyn where they would live for more than 35 years. Bryan worked as a maintenance electrician, fixing vast machines, but also loved doing development at home. Over the years he converted the garage and loft at his and Ella’s home, built a conservatory, redid the entire garden – and rewired Susan’s first home for good measure. “Dad had a very strong work ethic and all of us have inherited that,” Susan, a former retail manager who now works with blind veterans, reveals. “He was particularly proud of my brother David’s Army career, and for a time was in the Royal Observer Corps himself. “He was always early for everything, and was also well known for his amazing sense of humour, and occasional inappropriate jokes! “Dad also had loads of sayings. ‘Measure twice, cut once,’ was one he used a lot, and another was: ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right.’ “He loved his grandchildren, and my children – twins Hannah and Sarah, 31, and Toby, 26 – adored him. He took Toby to his first football match. “Him and mum were also foster parents, and they adopted James, now 34, after picking him up from hospital when he was just two days old. Dad said James had given him a second chance at parenting.” In his latter couple of years, Bryan had been in and out of hospital several times, and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He moved into Walshaw Lodge care home in Prestatyn for a few weeks, but sadly became ill and was taken to Rhyl’s Glan Clwyd Hospital, where he later died from Covid-19 and chest sepsis. “I managed to spend a few minutes with dad the day he died, but I wasn’t there when he passed away,” Susan says. “I wanted to be able to hold his hand so it has been a very hard and surreal time. “His funeral was held just five days later and we were able to toast dad with his favourite Famous Grouse whisky. “We’re planning to spread his ashes at Gwaenysgor village in Prestatyn, which dad loved. We’ll then go to his favourite pub, The Eagle and Child. “At the funeral the reverend said of dad, ‘God has built his house’ and that was very fitting. “Our family is a product of his strength and skills. No other man will ever measure up.”
Dad was an incredibly handy person who could fix anything, but he was particularly proud of the family he built
Susan, Bryan’s daughter