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Twice in his career Brian has been offered the mostly desk-based job of chief photographer and twice he has returned to the passion of taking pictures and meeting people.

In his career, there have also been some heart-stopping moments.

In the 1980s, Brian was sent to the St Pauls’ riots in Bristol and nearly had his car rocked over by rioters.

Another time, he was photographing a new age travellers’ site and was surrounded by a dozen knife-bradishing travellers, one of which stabbed him in an attempt to get his camera film.

A visit to photograph manoeuvres on Salisbury plain nearly ended in disaster when the tank in which Brian was travelling was mistaken for a remote controlled target and fired on with live ammunition.

But he has taken it all in his stride:

“To get up in the morning, not sure what you are going to do, but knowing what you are doing is what you want to do; that’s been fantastic.”

In the 40 years Brian has been at The Chronicle, many of the photographers who worked with him have gone onto bigger papers or to work for the national press.

Jon Mills, who started as a trainee photographer at The Chronicle and is now the picture editor of the Western Daily Press, says: “Brian could always surprise me with his coolness under pressure.

“I remember being at the opening of the Batheaston bypass with him. I was frantically running around looking for pictures. Brian came over and calmly and quietly whispered in my ear and showed me the picture.

“The picture I took of three huddled protesters sat in front of a line of policemen went on the front page the following day.”

Jon also remembers another job they did together that showed Brian’s wealth of experience.

“We were at the magistrates court to photograph a high-profile defendant leaving.

“I was out on the street with a telephoto lens and Brian was standing right by the entrance to the court.

“I saw the reporter come running out to tell us our man was on his way.

“As I lifted my camera, I saw Brian chatting to someone with his back to the court.

“The guy came out, straight past a still chatting Brian and legged it up the street.

“I thought Brian hadn’t seen him, but when we got back to the office it turned out Brian, without even missing a word or raising his camera, had fired off ten frames as the bloke walked past.”

Brian has not only earned respect among fellow photographers, but also with the myriad of reporters, subeditors, news-editors and editors he has worked with.

David Gledhill, current editor of The Bath Chronicle and Brian’s eighth since he started said: “His is an incredible achievement. I have really enjoyed working with him and having him as a key member of The Chronicle’s photographic team.

“The boy is a real survivor and I wish him all the best in his retirement.”

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