Past and present members of this organisation will have been saddened to hear that Brenig Garrett, a former President and long-term associate of the Nantmor Mountain Centre Association passed away on 10th December 2024.
Brenig joined the staff of Shenstone College of Education, Bromsgrove, in 1966, as a lecturer in the Rural Science department. That work association with Arthur Stow and other founding members of ‘Nantmor’ and Brenig’s own love of the outdoors soon brought Brenig into a leading role in the provision of a Mountain Leadership Training course at the college. The facility of Gelli Iago, then with simple gas lights and very few modern facilities, provided for many students each year to undergo practical training in the Welsh Mountains, supplemented by weekly lectures during the evenings at the college. Many students went on to qualify in their Mountain Leadership Assessment course and then to lead and teach mountaineering skills to their charges in turn.
By the late 1960’s Brenig was the Booking Secretary for the association, a role in which he served for many years. This was a busy time when Gelli Iago was in high demand with membership organisations in colleges, schools, and outdoor education associations. NMCA established close working relationships with major outdoor education establishments including Plas y Brenin and was a respected provider of quality training. Brenig was key to the organisation of the first and only national Outdoor Education Conference that was hosted by NMCA at Gelli Iago and continued to encourage the promotion of NMCA with enthusiasm and conviction.
Throughout the subsequent years Brenig was a constant within the association’s committee of management, a guiding light, always willing and able to seek out solutions to the issues that arose and equally ready to join in the practical tasks of property maintenance. Brenig was there at our first major celebration dinner, our 25th anniversary in 1988 and at every such occasion up to the 55th. Only deteriorating health and his and Val’s move to Worthing prevented him from maintaining a more direct involvement in more recent years.
Due recognition was given to Brenig when he was elected as President of NMCA and subsequently as a Vice-President. Few have given so much to this association and earned such deserved recognition.
On behalf of all members condolences are shared with Val, Helen and Sara and their wider family. Sad as we may be, Brenig’s was a life worthy of much celebration and for which we are grateful.