This site is a tribute to David Brooks, who was born in Warley, Brentwood, Essex on February 20, 1936. He is much loved and will always be remembered.

Précis of David’s life

Our father was a professional soldier so we were known by that charming term ‘Army Brats’ David was born in Warley, Brentwood, Essex and the married quarters were pretty basic. Just after the coronation of King George VI we followed Dad to Cairo, Egypt and our flat, in Heliopolis, had more mod-cons than most places in England! When the Second World War was declared we all had to move back into the barracks, and as that became a target of the Italians, that order was questionable. Then we were evacuated to Durban, South Africa as the journey, by sea in those days, was too dangerous to return to England. One memorable incident down there was when a beach fisherman landed a large ray; it was approximately seven foot from wing tip to wing tip. He suggested that David slide down a wing then showed him a pouch in the adult fish and inside was a baby ray. It was alive and he gave it to David who released it into the sea and he watched it swim away. From that moment he was himself hooked, not only on fish, but on nature in general. We managed to return to the UK about nine months before D Day and the only accommodation was a small thatched cottage on a farm, no water, gas or electricity!!! We stayed there until we found a house with at least the basics that had become vacant.Wartime Britain!

David (my younger brother) was always fiercely competitive and was always trying to beat his elder brother. When he grew to 6’2”, that is 8 inches taller and weighing 70 pounds more than me; he managed to break four of my ribs! (He then became my ‘Little Brother’) This was just a short time before his accident in 1960. He has been in a wheelchair for the last 59 years. (His doctors had given him a life expectancy of fifteen to twenty years.) He became an Archer in 1961, joining Kay and myself, and immediately started collecting trophies!

In Stoke Mandeville Spinal Hospital he met Kay, his Occupational Therapist, who he later married. They were married for 35 years until her death in 2007, since then he has been alone. After his Royal Air Force service – electronics – he had a job repairing televisions until he obtained a job with IBM and he remained with them for 30 years during which time he rose to become the Chief Executive of his section, contributing many good ideas and practices that saved the company many thousands of pounds.

Also he helped establish, as a charity, a fishing club for the disabled and took part in many competitions, many of them against other countries and on one memorable occasion the House of Lords. The number of trophies on display suggests he was pretty good at fishing too. He always supported many charities both for wild life and those that helped his fellow man/woman.

Then he suffered a stroke in 2017, so began a long spiral of descent until life was no longer pleasant living but an endurance test. His death was a happy release for him and he should now be with those he loved that had gone before and once again free of a wheelchair.

David - A life well lived.