A veteran of the Suez Crisis who went on to become a champion Wilmslow gardener has died.
Brian Dunn was in Egypt on national service as an army chef in 1956 when the country briefly went to war with Britain, France and Israel over control of the Suez Canal.
The grandfather of two, who trained as a plumber after leaving the army, died at Macclesfield Hospital last Monday (September 13) aftersuffering a heart attack. He was 78.
Brian, who was awarded a service medal following the Suez Crisis, eventually lived out a much quieter life through his all-consuming passion for gardening.
During decades devoted to growing flowers and vegetables in his beloved garden on Racecourse Road, Brian won hundreds of horticultural prizes and triumphed at countless local horticultural contests - entering dozens of categories each time.
Daughter Janice Dunn, who describes him as a ‘perfectionist’, said: "He was preparing his onions right up until going into hospital. His father and uncle were both big gardeners and horticultural showswere big things in those days. Dad wanted to carry on the tradition.
"He set up and ran his own horticultural show in Morley and went round all the local shows."
Brian, who spent 40 years working as a plumber at Cheadle Royal Hospital, spent all his free time in his garden whatever the weather, according to Janice.
The mother of two, 46, of Albany Road, Wilmslow, said: "Every evening and weekend he was in his garden. When he retired it was a full time job.
"He grew everything. From as soon as the sun rose until after dark he would be out there, even in winter.
"His greenhouses weren’t heated so each night he used to bring the tomato plants into the house. There were about 300 at one stage!
"The amount of work he did was unbelievable. I’ve never seen vegetables like my dad’s. He could have won millions of prizes for his garden but he was very modest and never showed it.
"Everybody says there was no one like him. He was a gentleman and always smiling. Nurses said he was a pleasure to look after."
Brian’s wife Margaret, 75, added: "We went to all the shows together. At times the kitchen looked like a green house and we had to cook around the tomato plants. He was dedicated to his garden and I was happy if he was happy."
Virginia Beswick, secretary of Cheadle Hulme Flower Show Society, said: "He was an unassuming gentleman. He won medals and trophies every year."
His funeral took place yesterday (Wednesday) at St John’s Church in Lindow.
