Brian Bennett Obituary, Death – My grandfather Brian Bennett, who passed away recently at the age of 84, was a socialist in the traditional sense. It wasn’t books and theories that inspired him to become a socialist; rather, it was the struggles and sacrifices he made while trying to provide a better life for his family. The fact that he had experienced childhood hunger was something that he carried with him throughout his life, whether it was ensuring that no one in his company ever left a crumb on their plate or providing anyone who asked for a ride home, a hot dinner, or the last ten pounds that he had in his wallet.
Brian was born into the abject poverty of a Lancashire mining community in the 1930s, and he spent his entire life living within a few miles of Atherton, the place where he was born. His boyhood was difficult even when measured by the standards of the historical period. His mother, Nancy (née Farrimond), passed away when he was seven years old, and he came dangerously close to passing away from rheumatic disease before he reached his teenage years. However, Brian’s condition prevented him from following in the footsteps of his father, Tom, and his brothers, Tom and Jack, into the mine after he graduated from the nearby school.
Instead, he found work with the Royal London, where he was responsible for collecting insurance premiums from the little towns and villages that had developed as a result of the coalfields that were located between Bolton and Leigh. When Margaret Lambert was working in the offices of Lancashire United Transport, Brian was there and introduced himself to her. After being married in 1961, they immediately moved into a home that had two stories and two separate apartments. Their children, Dawn and Martin, as well as their grandkids were able to attend college as a direct result of the hard work that the couple put in, with Margaret working office positions that included processing payroll.