Tim Briggs Obituary, Death – Tim Briggs, my brother, was a musician, teacher, and librarian who passed away at the age of 62 after a brief illness. His life was rich and active. He participated in innumerable musical performances and productions, often as the director as well. Tim Briggs was born in Solihull, West Midlands. His parents, Helen (née Fryer) and Dennis Briggs, were both teachers from working-class families. We were raised around literature and given intellectual and musical encouragement together with our sister, Mary. We relocated to Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, in the early 1960s where our father worked at a teacher training institute, but we frequently visited our maternal grandparents in Painswick, a Gloucestershire town that Tim has always adored.
Tim was a member of the first comprehensive class at North Bromsgrove High School, and the ambitious musical productions he participated in during those years served as the foundation for his future career. He received his degree in history from Queen’s College, Oxford, in 1981, and after working as a library assistant at Warwick University, he went on to Loughborough University to receive his library training in 1983. This was a logical next step for someone who had created his own library system as a young boy. Later, from 1983 to 1986, he managed mobile libraries in Hertfordshire before working as a librarian in Corsham and Box, Wiltshire (1986-90).
He participated in numerous musical performances during this time, including a Jacques Brel-themed show in Edinburgh in 1983. He relocated to Cornwall in 1990 to take a job as Barnicoats, Penrynlibrary ,’s coordinator. Since then, he has participated in musical productions with organizations such as Penryn Community Theatre, Panto in the Pub, Carnon Downs Drama Group, Chacewater Players, Carharrack Players, and Playrite Theatre. He was the musical director a lot of the time, but also the piano at times. Tim retrained as a teacher in 1994, and from 1996 to 2002 he taught music at St Francis Church of England School in Falmouth, Falmouth Community School (2003 to 2005), Chesham Park College in Buckinghamshire (2005 to 2007), Cotswold School in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, where he served as head of music (2007 to 2014), and Tudor Grange Academy in Worcester (2014-20).
He was dedicated to extracurricular musical activities and inspired young musicians with his talent, professionalism, calm politeness, and sense of humor. He was always willing to lend a hand and be involved, whether it was with a charity marathon, musical, or just playing the Gruffalo or turnip for his grandchildren. Tim moved to Plymouth and joined choral organizations there, appearing in NHS the Musical at the city’s Theatre Royal in 2021. Tim was a member of the Hereford chamber choir from 2014 till his retirement in 2020. Two daughters, Kate and Harriet, were born to him from his first marriage to Maureen Stevens. Both that union and his second, to Julia Murray, ended in divorce. His daughters, his four grandkids, Mary and I, and his daughters survive him.
