Paul Graham
(JRGS 1959-66) notes passing of Bernard Brown (JRGS 1962-64) ...
I
came across his
obituary in The Guardian newspaper; it seems to have been
written in April but only published in today’s print edition, with the
image shown left.
From the July
1965 and May 1967
school magazines and other sources, I have discovered that Bernard
entered the sixth form at JR in 1962, after presumably doing O-Levels at
Norbury Manor school, and achieved A-Levels in Pure Maths, Applied Maths
and Physics. He would have been a fellow student of people like Ian
Castro, Mike Balme and Ian Davies, although a year
older than them. John Cobley might also remember him. Bernard
left the school to study Maths & Physics at Keele University in 1964. He
must have changed course after one year, graduating with a BSc 2.1 in
Political History and Science. (Keele was well known as a politically
active university.)
Here are a couple of paragraphs from The Guardian obituary,
written by Marshall Colman: "My friend Bernard Brown, who has died aged 77, was a teacher and
linguist who grew up in Britain but moved to Germany in his 20s and
happily adapted to his new country. He was impressed with the way
Germany had made amends for its Nazi past, and, rediscovering his Jewish
roots late in life, became affiliated to the Ohel Jakob synagogue in
Munich, which had been rebuilt with state assistance. As well as English
and German, Bernard spoke Hebrew, French and Italian and had an
acquaintance with several other languages. He was fascinated by what the
structures of language revealed about the cultures connected to them,
and planned a book on the subject which, as he preferred conversation to
writing, was never completed.
"[After graduation] from Keele University in 1968, he followed up
with an MA in European studies at Reading University in 1969. He spent
the first years of his career teaching English to adults in Britain,
Italy and France, before settling in what was then West Germany, where
one of his early language students was Erika Hänsle, whom he married in
1975. Thereafter he taught at the Berufliche Oberschule, a vocational
college in Bad Tölz, Bavaria, where he became head of English. Bernard
also ran workshops for teachers in Germany, Austria and Italy, and
self-published a number of idiosyncratic books with titles such as
The Pleasure Principle and Begin With a Smile, designed to
reduce anxiety in language learning and which he used in his workshops.
Having been profoundly affected by a feeling of rejection after failing
the 11-plus exam at school, he disliked streaming and strongly opposed
IQ testing. He also believed that with the right methods every student
can learn, and devoted time and effort to helping the weakest and least
motivated in his classrooms."
Bernard is survived by Erika, their sons, Andreas, Ruben and Daniel, his brother Vincent and sisters Helen and Miriam.
Paul Graham, Iver, Bucks; July 2022 Email
Mike Etheridge (JRGS 1963-65)
adds: I can remember Bernard Brown at Norbury Manor school
when the top classes
were
based at a building in Winterbourne Road that was, at one time, Heath
Clark Grammar prior to the latter school's move to Waddon. I did not
know Bernard well but I can remember him being a really nice chap.
I forwarded a link to my other NM colleagues. Glen Pharoah
provided the image
shown right. "I remember Bernard Brown, who is pictured third from
right," he says. Click on the thumbnail to view a larger version.
I find it a little surprising that none of us that joined JRGS from
Norbury Manor in 1963 realised that Bernard Brown was there.
The picture of him holding the maths model shown right suggests
that he may have made it. We were all tasked with making models as maths
projects at NM. All the models had specific names, such as "Greater
Stellated Dodecahedron," or similar. The best models were hung from the
ceiling in the maths room. Those fixed with Sellotape soon fell down
when the tape rotted. My last most complex models were fixed with balsa
cement and painted with Humbrol enamel.
John Cobley (JRGS 1958-65)
adds: Yes, I remember Bernie,
although I didn’t take any classes with him. But I do remember his
sparkling smile, which seemed to emanate from both his mouth and his
eyes. I can even now recognize this smile in the color photo posted
above. He was also startlingly enthusiastic.