Our Father passed away on the 10th January 2005 and I wanted to commemorate his life on this web site with the photos we have of Dad.
He was born in Jarrow, Tyne & Wear in 1936. He was the son of William Lister Bramwell and Mary Isabella Logan.
He joined the Royal Navy in 1953 and served both on Submarines as well as the surface fleet. Some of the ships Dad served on included HMS Jamaica, HMS Bramble and the submarine HMS Alliance, which is now a museum in Gosport a few miles from where we live.

It was while he was serving with the navy in Chatham that he met Joyce Waterman, our mum. Mum was born in 1930 in Rainham in Kent, just east of the Naval town of Chatham. She was the 6th daughter of George Ernest Waterman and Elizabeth Clara Swift. It was while working as a waitress in a cafe on Sun Pier, Chatham, that Mum and Dad met for the first time.They were married in 1959 and were together for 32 years before mum died in 1991. They had three sons, Steve, Gary and Stuart, and a daughter, Gillian, who died 3 months after birth.

Dad's funeral took place on the 1st February at Warblington Church near Havant in Hampshire. His coffin was draped with the White Ensign and a Bugler played The Last Post at the end of the service. Thanks go to the Submariners Association for providing this.
After the service Dad was laid to rest with Mum.

My Daughter Kirsty read to the congregation a letter she had written for her Grandad and I read the following poem entitled;

FREE

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free
I’m following the path God has laid you see.
I took His hand when I heard him call
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found that peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Oh yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savoured much
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts and peace to thee
God wanted me now; He set me free.

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1. 9th April 2004 at the Ex-Services Club in Havant.
2. Christmas Day 2003 at our home with my daughter Kirsty
3. Dad with his thinking head on
4. Boxing Day 2003 at my brother's house with Abbie, Dad's youngest Grandchild
5. May 22nd 2004, my brother in law's 40th birthday
6. Mum and Dad relaxing at home enjoying a cup of tea about 1986

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7. Dad on the right probably on shore leave
8. Dad on the left, we think with his shipmate Bertie Stubbins outside The Queens Hotel in Helensburgh Scotland in 1959
9. Out drinking with his mates. Not sure if Dad was still serving or had been discharged
10. This photo was taken in March 1958 2 days before his first son Steve was born
11. Dad is on the left with the HMS Jamaica cap
12. We are not sure if this is Dad's discharge from the Royal Navy
13. Dad is on the left while based at Chatham in Kent in 1955

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14. Dad on right at the Petersfield Welcome Inn, late 1965 enjoying a social evening
15. Enjoying a darts evening with friends
16. Ciggie in mouth, Dart in hand, no doubt the pint is on the table
17. Dad on the left in New Zealand with brother John in 1999
18. Dad at Huka Falls in New Zealand with John in February 1999
19. This photo was taken by Mum about 1989 while on a caravan holiday in Brixham Devon.