David Brittain’s Eulogy
Allow me to echo the Reverends’ words in welcoming you all here today as we lay to rest one of the worlds genuine good guys, David Rennie Brittain. Over such a long life as his and the various chapters he has had, you will undoubtedly remember him in your way, maybe as a relative, a friend, a colleague, as a daughter or as his dear wife, Diana. Today I stand before you to share a few words as his nephew. Whilst my memories are my own and of those immediately around me, I’m confident that the qualities I’m able to attribute to David and some of the stories I have to share will resonate with your own memories of David.
As you are aware David was 101 when he died, an incredible feat of longevity. To give some context to the length of such a life, in 1920, the year of his birth, a pint of beer cost 4.5p, the latest brand new model T Ford would set you back £280 and the average house price in the UK was £695…and he would even had to wait 5 years before another Scot, (another one with a unique middle name!) John Logie Baird, invented the television! His life spanned 4 monarch’s, 19 Prime ministers, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union & the Iron curtain & even a couple of pandemics!
But what of the man himself, and what were his attributes that led to such extraordinary longevity?
He was a man who understood the importance of life long physical exercise, whether it was his (very!) competitive badminton days, single digit golf handicap days, daily morning cycle rides up to the Fire Mountains at Club La Santa (he did that well into his ‘80s) or the more genial (yet still wonderfully competitive!) surrounds of the Snooker club here in Budleigh Salterton. And he certainly didn’t go in for all this ‘Politically Correct’ world of ‘let everyone be a winner’, whether you were 8 or 80 he played every game to win. It was wonderful to see him take great delight in smashing a cross court winner into the far corner at Centre Parks beyond his 7 year old grand niece Ella’s lunging dive, her shocked face was a picture…he was nearly 90 at that point!
There was also another side to this exercise, it was consistency & repetition, and this was in fact more a mantra for life, you didn’t have to be the biggest, strongest or the fastest on the day but you had to always be there to win it. I learnt this lesson during a round of golf in my 20’s. David would have been in his mid 70’s then, and I delighted in showing the ‘old man’ just how far I could whack the ball. Sure I out drove him on most holes, but whilst I spent an inordinate amount of time looking for my wayward drives, David was always perfectly placed in the centre of the fairway, a knowing smile on his face… consistency and repetition….I’m confident you can guess who was victor in the clubhouse that day!
So exercise, a will to win, consistency but what else is there?
Interest, relevance, and support. It was a wonderful moment when I asked my family members for memories of him and 2 of my nieces, 25 years my junior, told a very similar story as one I had. I have known David all my life, he spent every Christmas with us and one of my earliest memories of David was him sitting with me in the family kitchen on Christmas Day building my new blue Lego tractor, I was about 10. We sat for what seemed like an age building this fiendishly tricky tractor together, I’m sure I was not the easiest of apprentices but I remember he was patient, calm and wise, just like the engineer he was and it was precisely what was needed that day I can tell you! Whilst my nieces Christmas day pressies weren’t blue Lego tractors they told me stories of how he patiently sat with them, 30 years later, for hours building whatever fiendish gifts Santa had bought for them that year.
In all there are 9 grandnieces and grandnephews on this side of the family and all responded with the same message that David was genuinely interested in their lives, always asking about their studies, relationships and giving wise headed advice, and you’ll be unsurprised & pleased to hear that just 4 days before he passed away he was on a Facetime call to grandnephew, Tommy, giving him a rocket for his apparent slacking at University!
But what else?
He always maintained a positive attitude, never grumbled, and had amazing fortitude. There was a time about 5 years ago whilst on holiday when he fell and damaged his hand quite badly, we picked him up and he swore all who witnessed the fall to secrecy not to tell Diana…we never did! He carried on the holiday regardless, undoubtedly in much discomfort, but such was the man. There were, sadly, more such examples of this in his latter years, many falls but not a single grumble. David was always convivial and quick witted and was the heart and soul of any dinner table conversation and could instantly befriend anyone. In Lanzarote his holiday group made regular evening visits to the local working man’s club to socialise and play boule…although this may well have been prompted by him, being the canny Scot he was, finding out that you could get cheap food and booze there!
As I mentioned earlier David attended our families Christmas’s and I again remember fondly he would bring my dear Dad a special bottle of wine each year, from a specially bought Christmas stash. As each year passed the bottles got dustier and the contents more revered, my dad cradling each years offering more preciously than the last, decantering the increasingly port-like precious contents as if it were nuclear material. Then, abruptly after about 30 years or so, there were chocolates, my dad looked perplexed and somewhat put out until David explained in his wonderful Scottish accent, “Well Bob I never expected to live this long!”, that was a good 20 years ago!
High standards too were a mark of David's life, I’m confident that every man here would look at the parade ground gloss of his highly polished shoes and then glance at their own with a slightly sheepish look on their face. Trousers were pressed to an inch of their lives, ironed collared shirts the order of the day. It was nothing more though than a mark of the man, do everything to the best of your abilities or simply not bother at all.
It appears then to attain a great age you do not need to have superpowers. You seem to need a genuine zest for life, a positive outlook combined with fortitude and hard work (& play!) will get you most of the way. A laid-back attitude and a dry sense of humour will take you that little bit further, a genuine interest in those around you and a maintenance of high standards will nearly get you there. The final pieces of the puzzle? Well, a tot or 2 of whisky each evening, regular holidays, a Gold plated Bupa card and of course the care of a loving wife.
This is how I will remember David and I trust my memories strike a chord with many of you here today. I look forward to hearing some of your own stories later on, but, gentlemen, be warned though, in David's honour I shall be inspecting those shoes….
Thank you.