Last night I called a College Meeting to deliver the very sad news to our staff and students that our former Head of Mathematics, Martin Breen, had passed away in his home country of South Africa.  Although we only heard the news that morning, Martin had apparently been ill for some time, and he collapsed about three weeks ago, tragically never recovering.

Understandably, there was a sense of disbelief when everyone heard this news.  At the end of the short meeting, we stood and maintained a silence in memory of Martin and all that he had contributed to the lives of so many of us here at LPCUWC.  As many students dispersed to reflect in silence, some looked for support among their friends while others lit some small candles in the middle of the courtyard as a sign of respect and remembrance.

Martin was one of those ‘larger-than-life’ personalities who seemed invincible.  One of the ‘pioneer’ team of teachers who helped set up LPCUWC in 1992, Martin had a particular ability to connect with his students, often through his own idiosyncrasies such as his terrible recycled jokes or his unique ability to throw calculators across a classroom with uncanny accuracy.  Martin’s ability to connect crossed all boundaries , and embraced not only students who were in his Mathematics classes, but also his football teams, his many tutor groups over the years, the teachers in “his” Mathematics Department, and perhaps most especially, any and every student from Africa.

For those people on Facebook, there is a ‘Martin Breen Appreciation Society’ page HERE which contains messages of condolence and some wonderful photos that will stir the memories of anyone who was fortunate enough to know Martin.

Our thoughts are with Martin’s wife, Norah, and all his family at this difficult time.