
Brian Prichard
Brian PrichardBrian Prichard
Brian Prichard
1924-2010
.
Brian had not been a member of the BB as a boy
and only came into contact when his two sons
joined the 37
th
London Company that was part of
Trinity Rd chapel in the early 1970’s. He became
involved in the BB when the 37th camp was short of
a Medical Officer and he was asked if he fancied
doing the job [which he then continued to do
without fail every year] firstly with the 37th and
latterly with the 70th. In fact the last thing he
would ask at the end of each camp was the date of
the next one to ensure that his busy professional
diary was kept clear for that week.
Brian, being himself, meant that he took the remit
of Medical Officer in its widest sense to include a
long health warning at the start of camp, starting as
an ‘ABC’ and ending up as a ‘ABCDEF’ by 2005! This
covered modifying the camp menu by abolishing
such things as evaporated milk and introducing
pilchards and ensuring plenty of exercise. The
latter could include the cross-country run,
something he did even up to his 70
th
birthday.
Hundreds of boys will have enjoyed or endured
what was supposed to be the pleasant Sunday
evening stroll, later to become Prof’s walk.
Depending on the year and site this invariably
involved either walking up non existent paths, up
cliff faces, walking waist deep through an incoming
tide with the small boys being balanced on staff
shoulders to avoid total immersion, or walking
through thick undergrowth which would normally
need a machete! The undergrowth would be cleared
by Brian with his trademark shorts, sandals, short
sleeved shirt and always with the cine-camera or
videocam in hand.
Brian also took a firm view on discipline, (more
than once he referred to Margaret Thatcher as a
dangerous liberal) and it was not unknown for him
to threaten and then carry out the threat of extra
orderlies for the smallest misdemeanour. However,
he also had a strong sense of justice. On one
infamous occasion four senior boys were caught
red-handed with alcoholic drinks on
an authorised
night out. Brian suggested that it was not totally
their fault, as the staff shouldn’t have let them
near temptation. So instead of the normal
punishment for this offence which was catching the
first train home, he suggested that they be given
the option of three days ‘confined to camp’ with
one hour a day lectures by him on the effects of
alcohol, complete with a test. The boys chose the
latter but probably in retrospect would have
preferred the former!
Outside of his time as BB camp Medical Officer,
Brian led an incredibly busy life as a Professor of
Medicine of
international repute, over 40 years as a
councillor on Wandsworth Council, as well as his
devotion to his family and church.
Brian was a man who once met would never be
forgotten, definitely not by those officers and boys
in the 70
th
who camped with him b
2005.
Chris Buss
Brian, being himself, meant that he
took the remit of Medical Officer in its
widest sense to include a long health
warning at the start of camp, starting
as an ‘ABC’ in 1980 and ending up as a
‘ABCDEF’ by 2005!