Turner, Andrew

OTT 109 - North

Date of Death: 24/12/2011

From The Gazette 55.

My brother Andrew, three years younger than me, attended Ottershaw School from 1968 to 1971.

He was not particularly happy there – due as much to issues stemming from his childhood as to any shortcomings in the School – and left after he took his ‘O’ Levels. Although he was gifted academically, he was impatient with the educational system and, after only one year in the Sixth Form of Sheen Grammar School near the family home in Richmond, he left to take a job in an electrical retailer’s store.

Andrew was utterly gentle and had a wickedly dry sense of humour. He respected the opinions and beliefs of others, and expected similar treatment in return. At the same time, he could be remarkably stubborn. His prodigious artistic and musical talent were apparent from an early age, and it was not long before he found himself working in the animation industry in London. He played a ‘mean’ guitar and formed a band with some friends. They performed in pubs and clubs and came close to ‘making it’, but it was not to be.

After many years in the animation industry the work in his area of specialisation began to dry up and his personal life took a rocky turn. In the late ’90s he moved to Brighton, where he spent the rest of his life. Although he was never able to revive his artistic career, he found some fulfilment in his later years by once again joining a band, performing in public from time to time.

He led the archetypal Bohemian lifestyle. When not far off 50, he astounded me by announcing his impending and entirely unexpected fatherhood. His delightful son Josh gave him great pleasure in his final years and helped to compensate for the disappointments in his professional life.

Andrew succumbed to lung cancer just before 7pm last Christmas Eve. His funeral took place at Woodvale Crematorium in Brighton on 5 January, after which yours truly and many of his friends convened at The Gladstone pub nearby. He will be warmly remembered by all who knew him. In fact, I would be most interested to hear from any Old Boy who has any recollections of him.

Stephen Turner