Roynon "Roy" George Brown, MBE—A Kessingland Stalwart

 

Originally written by Lauren Rogers for the Lowestoft Journal and published: 9:27 AM April 29, 2011. The story has been updated.

Roynon Brown, who died aged 95 in October 2010, was believed to be one of the longest serving parish councillors in Suffolk. He sat on Kessingland Parish Council for more than 45 years and, having lived in Kessingland his entire life, was an expert on local maritime history.

In 2010, the council decided to award Mr Brown the Freedom of the Village and commissioned a decorative medal which they planned to present on his 96th birthday. Sadly, just weeks before they could present the medal, Mr Brown died from mesothelioma - the disease related to exposure to asbestos.

To further honour the former councillor, the village renamed its beach picnic area after him. The picnic area was renovated and included the addition of a flagpole. The area was renamed the 'Roy Brown Memorial Gardens'.

'He would have enjoyed that,' said his son Gerald Brown, who posthumously accepted the medal on behalf on his late father back in February 2011, 'He would have been very happy because he loved being part of the village.'

The commemorative medal, which Gerald keeps safe alongside the MBE award which his father was given by Prince Charles in 1995, is engraved with the Kessingland village sign and the inscription 'Roynon Brown MBE Honorary - Freeman of the Parish Of Kessingland. On the reverse is a picture of a Lowestoft steam fishing trawler and the old Bolton Lifeboat, the first lifeboat to work from Kessingland Beach.

'He was born in the village in 1914 and spent his whole life here. He knew everyone and was involved in all sorts of clubs as well as the council. He was very active and never one to sit about. He was going out and about right up until the end. He was still driving his car just a few days before he died.'

Mr Brown's ancestors were all local fisherman, going back to the 1800s.

At the age of 14 he became an apprentice shipwright at the J Chambers Yard and worked on the trawlers and drifters of the then-considerable Lowestoft fishing fleet. He eventually became the yard foreman and, in the war served as a Home Guard sergeant.

He was incredibly proud of the region's maritime history and was considered an expert in the field of old wooden boats. He even advised the group who restored the Excelsior - Lowestoft's former fishing smack which celebrating her 90th birthday in 2011.

'Father never got to see the medal,' said Gerald, 'but we know he would have been very happy with it.'

While Mr Brown can no longer share his stories or anecdotes about life in Kessingland, his memory will live on in others. A few days before he died his granddaughter Sharon, daughter of Gerald and his wife Patricia, revealed that she was expecting a little boy.

In 2011, James Roy, named in honour of his great-grandfather, arrived in the world.

Footnote:
This information was published with permission from Sharon Hawkins.  Her grandfather was Roynon George Brown and Sharon reminded me that her grandfather had accomplished so much more than what was written in his published obituary.  He was a true stalwart of the Kessingland community which he served.

Genealogy: Roynon George Brown, MBE (1914-2010) was the son of George Ralph Brown (1886-1956) whose mother was Mary Durrant (1852-1929), and whose mother was Maria Welch (1826-1896) whose father was Sherrard Welch (1791-1856) and his father was Thomas Welch (1761-1792).  Thomas Welch had a son [brother of Sherrard Welch] named John Welch (1787-1884) and his son was John Welch (1812-1994), and his daughter was Susannah Welsh (1847-1898) whose son was George “Pikey” William Welch-Adams (1867-1940).

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