Bryan Burrough

Bryan was deeply dedicated to Soho, to St Anne’s and to the Soho Society. His charm and diplomacy, his excellent judgement, his good counsel, unfailing good humour and untiring hard work will be missed not only by the Church and Society, but also in every corner he had an influence: by his family, his friends and neighbours, on the Bench, at the Museum of Soho, by TIPP (Time in Public Places), by SORA (the Soho Ramblers' Association), the Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks and in many other places.

Bryan played a major part in every one of the campaigns led by the Soho Society. He spearheaded the campaign to stop Soho being torn down to make way for a concrete jungle, worked tirelessly to have St Anne' s Church rebuilt and the clock restored, and helped set up the Soho Housing Association, to name but a few significant achievements.

Whatever the occasion in Soho, Bryan was there, not just as a bystander, but in a meaningful, often pivotal role. If ever anyone deserved to be called pillar of the community, it was Bryan. Bryan' s funeral was in two main public parts. First a choral evensong was held at his beloved St Anne' s on 31 October.

This was a Soho farewell, with no fewer than a dozen speakers called upon to bear witness to Bryan' s achievements and contributions to the community. Then on All Saints Day an astounding funeral procession led by the clergy of St Anne' s, with the Lord Mayor in full regalia leading hundreds of mourners behind the hearse, took us through the streets of Soho to St Giles-in-the-Fields. At every corner a police officer stood to attention, saluting until the cortege had passed and permitting the traffic to move again only when the last mourner was safely on their way. Passers-by stopped respectfully with many people leaning out of their windows to see the procession. How many of them knew that had it not been for Bryan their buildings might not have been standing today? At St Giles the great and good of Westminster mingled with representatives of many Soho and West End organisations, and several of our neighbouring amenity associations - Covent Garden, Bayswater, Mayfair and St James' s. The service was conducted by the Revd Nicholas Holtam of St Martin' s-in-the-Fields; the Revd Clare Herbert, Rector of St Anne' s, gave the sermon; and the tribute was given by The Rt Hon. The Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville CH (Peter Brooke, who was our local MP for 24 years). We knew Bryan would have been very proud, and being such a modest man he would probably have been touched and a little surprised by such a massive turnout. But he would have been the only one there to be surprised.