Mr Brian A. Rowe (1962)

Provided by Mrs Joyce E. Rowe

Brian Rowe 16 April 1940 to 26 September 2007

Brian was born in Shrewsbury, because his father's employer, British Aluminium, had been evacuated there during the war. The family returned to S.E. London before the end of the war, where Brian started his primary education.

In 1953 Brian won a place at Bryanston School, Dorset, in a scholarship sponsored by his father's employer. He enjoyed his time at Bryanston. As well as academic work he played hockey and worked on the lighting for school plays. His general knowledge, particularly of history, literature and music was excellent, surely due to Bryanston.

After A-levels, he spent one year working for English Electric at Stafford, before going to Imperial College in 1959 to study Electrical Engineering. As well as still playing hockey, leisure time was spent, with friends, repairing a succession of old cars, and building radios, amplifiers and other electronic equipment. His parents, and especially his mother, were very tolerant of 4 or 5 people turning up most weekends to enjoy their hospitality and work on the latest project.

After graduating Brian returned to English Electric in Stafford to complete his apprenticeship, and join the fairly new DC Transmission Department. He was based in Stafford for all his working life, over 40 years, but the company became GEC, then GEC Alstom, then Alstom and finally Areva and the department also changed its name several times and is now PES, Power Engineering Systems. Over the years he was involved in projects in Sardinia, Canada and the Cross Channel link between England and France. He travelled to most continents for work, but preferred to be involved with design, development and commissioning. He had a good knowledge of transmission theory, from the complete projects to the detail needed to transfer the theory into practice. Many younger engineers have expressed their gratitude to Brian for teaching them, and always being prepared to help them. He always said his aim was to pass on his knowledge.

At Imperial College Brian had met Joyce, and they were married in 1964. They had 2 children, both now grown up, married and each with two children. Outside work Brian enjoyed spending time with family and friends, walking, listening to classical music and going to concerts. Brian was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 1995. After an operation and 6 months chemotherapy, he returned to work and normal life until September 2003 when the cancer recurred. After another operation, he had chemotherapy for most of the next 4 years, until he died. In spite of the side effects of treatment, he remained positive and always hoped the cancer would be at least stabilised, if not cured. He died after 4 weeks in hospital on 26th September 2007.