James Breese writes:
I wanted to seize this opportunity to communicate with and thank Martin’s
customers – as, I know, the magic community is a very special one – and
was an extremely important part of our father’s life. I was, as so many
have been I’m sure, inspired by this kind and talented man.
Martin started contributing to the advancement of Magic at a very young
age – as you will notice from this inspiring photograph we have asked to
be included…!!
I had the enormous privilege of being Martin’s son. I
was able to list his achievements as he began to pass away and we knew he
could hear. He contributed over 60 years of work towards Magic. He
supported others at every opportunity. He published a long list of fiction
and non-fiction titles and was even a well-respected authority on Modern
First Edition books. He also contributed with many other creative
endeavours of note.
I am proud, in a way, to say that, when realising that Martin had just a
few days left, one of Doctor’s cried and so did many of the hospital
nurses. When we thanked a nurse (many of whom had been caring for him for
over a year), she said “No – I am grateful to him”. She went on to explain
that he had recently written letters on her behalf regarding her
accommodation issues, contacted solicitors and made phone calls.
In the last hours, Martin remained playful and cheeky! When attending to
his mouth, he ‘bit’ one of the nurses finger – she called him a cheeky
monkey and he grinned the widest grin you could imagine. All this from a
man who wasn’t able to speak or hardly breathe at this point. To my
memory, the last word I heard him say, when his loving wife Pang asked how
he was feeling was a simple and amazing… ‘good’.
No doubt Martin’s life will continue to inspire and amaze. Only yesterday
did I hear from his former wife Jill (they remained close friends) that
Martin survived a bomb blast in London during the Blitz of World War Two -
to the point that the windows in his room blew out.
This brings me to the last point - he never, ever – not once complained –
in his whole life, and certainly not during over a year of intense, near
non-stop chemotherapy.
Our whole family is indebted to the amazing team at the Royal Sussex –
it’s easy to say, but we cannot tell you how lucky he was to have this
breath-taking care. One of the senior consultants, when breaking the news
of Martin’s very grave outlook a few days ago – stated what a character
Martin was. He then repeated his exact words in a deeply sincere and
affectionate manner. He was indeed a character. What a magical life he
had, and a life so well lived.
If you would like to offer your reflections on Martin’s life, in
particular with reference to those to the world Magic community, we would
love to hear these – maybe even if his work or products had a hand in
inspiring you. We may even later ask permission to include a few of these
in tribute to him. Please send these messages to John’s email address.
James Breese, Martin’s proud and loving son. |
