17th May 1949 - 22nd May 2007

“At our Plough Monday Court Meeting in January 2000, Past Master Brian Burgess delivered an eloquent address to mark the death of my father. It never occurred to me that I would be asked to try and return the compliment for Brian just 7½ years later.

Brian died unexpectedly at home on 22nd May, just 5 days after celebrating his 58th birthday in China. His funeral at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Wimbledon on 31st May was certainly the largest I have ever attended. The church was packed with all the important elements of Brian’s life: family, godchildren, priests (I counted 18 on the altar, including our own dear Chaplain), legal colleagues and clients, the many charities with which Brian was involved and, of course, Feltmakers. Not just members of this Court, but many recently recruited Liverymen too, all responding to Brian’s ability to connect with people. 

There were many wonderful things said about Brian that day, but what stuck clearest in my mind was the claim “that Brian did not have acquaintances, he only had friends.” How lucky we all are to have had that friendship and connection with Brian through our Livery Company, to which he devoted so much time and energy.

Brian was admitted to the Livery in October 1970. Following in Patrick and Michael’s footsteps, he was the third of his generation to be admitted, which was itself the third generation of Burgesses to grace our Company. On his application form, Brian cited that longer family connection, through his father, David, and his grandfather, Ernest. But what really stands out from his form was his reply to the question: Have you ever been adjudicated bankrupt? NEVER, in large capital letters, was Brian’s robust response. 

At the time he joined us Brian was an articled clerk. He went on to have a distinguished career as a solicitor, later founding his own firm, Beauvoisin & Burgess, latterly based in Weybridge. 15 years ago, Brian was one of the 4 founders of Lexlink, an international network of law firms. Its l5th Annual Conference in Beijing was the trip Brian had just returned from.

Within the Livery Brian progressed very quickly. He was elected Master in October 1992 at the age of 43, narrowly missing Past Master Keens’ record as our youngest Master in recent times. Brian had a distinguished year as Master and his most lasting legacy to the Feltmakers was his reorganisation during that year of the Charity Trustees into an active and effective Committee. It was typical of Brian that he led from the front and he served as a Charity Trustee from 1997, and as Chairman from 2000. Our St Clements’ Initiative could equally aptly be called the Burgess Initiative. This annual toll on Liverymen, compulsory for new entrants and voluntary for the rest of us, now produces almost as much annual revenue to our Foundation as our investment income. In many ways Brian was the conscience of our Company: constantly reminding us that charitable giving was one of our main purposes, without which we risked becoming just another dining club. But he always made charitable activities such fun and none more memorable than the wonderful reception at Downing Street in Past Master Bedford’s year. That was entirely Brian’s inspiration. We all had a splendid evening and we raised enough money to buy a high tech wheelchair for a student at Southwark Academy.

And Brian always went the extra mile. Quite literally in July 2005 when he flew out to Gibraltar to present a bottle of champagne to our gallant Clerk and Liveryman Jane Way on completion of their Trafalgar Trek, which had raised over £15,000 for our charitable funds.

It was not just the Feltmakers’ charity that benefited from Brian’s talents and energy. At various times he was Chairman of the Ethics Committee at the London Clinic, a Governor of two schools and actively involved with several Catholic charities. The Handicapped Childrens’ Pilgrimage Trust was especially close to his heart. Brian got terrific fulfilment from all his charitable work and, in the case of the Handicapped Childrens Pilgrimage Trust, he also met the most wonderful wife Elizabeth in Lourdes and they were married in 1979. They have 2 sons and 2 daughters, of whom Brian was immensely proud.

In October 2004 Brian and Elizabeth celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with Mass and a lunch party for family and friends. Patrick proposed the toast: ad multos annos... and you know it is a Patrick Burgess toast when it is in Latin. It is a great sadness that Brian only enjoyed 3 of those many years we wished him. We know the gap he leaves in our ranks. We think of the far greater loss to Elizabeth, his children, his brothers and sisters. Our heartfelt sympathy to them and our grateful thanks for all that Brian was to all of us.”

These are words written and spoken by Susan Wood, Third Warden, at the Court Meeting on 2nd July 2007.