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| Brenda Birney obituary | Brenda Birney obituary |
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| My mother, Brenda Birney, who has died aged 99, was a teacher and an expert on English porcelain. | My mother, Brenda Birney, who has died aged 99, was a teacher and an expert on English porcelain. |
| She was born in Golders Green, north London, while her father was serving in the trenches in France in the first world war. The youngest of three daughters of Herman Heimann, a lawyer, and his wife, Lily (nee Chapman), a photographer’s model who was briefly on the stage, she followed her older sisters to Wessex Gardens primary school. For two years she attended Hendon County grammar and then joined her sisters at the local La Sagesse convent school. | She was born in Golders Green, north London, while her father was serving in the trenches in France in the first world war. The youngest of three daughters of Herman Heimann, a lawyer, and his wife, Lily (nee Chapman), a photographer’s model who was briefly on the stage, she followed her older sisters to Wessex Gardens primary school. For two years she attended Hendon County grammar and then joined her sisters at the local La Sagesse convent school. |
| After training at Pitman’s Secretarial College and working for the trading company Ralli Brothers at Bush House in central London, she joined the Wrens in 1942. Initially she served in the Dover tunnels and Folkestone, was promoted to Third Officer, training at Greenwich, and prepared for D-day at Inverness. | After training at Pitman’s Secretarial College and working for the trading company Ralli Brothers at Bush House in central London, she joined the Wrens in 1942. Initially she served in the Dover tunnels and Folkestone, was promoted to Third Officer, training at Greenwich, and prepared for D-day at Inverness. |
| In her memoir she wrote: “The day before D-day I travelled the length of the coast from Portsmouth to Dover [delivering the] sealed orders for commanding officers of ships taking part in Overlord, the invasion of Normandy; was based at Caserta in 1945 and after VE Day was transferred to Malta.” | In her memoir she wrote: “The day before D-day I travelled the length of the coast from Portsmouth to Dover [delivering the] sealed orders for commanding officers of ships taking part in Overlord, the invasion of Normandy; was based at Caserta in 1945 and after VE Day was transferred to Malta.” |
| Invalided out of the Wrens after having contracted ulcerative colitis, in 1947 Brenda married the viola player Leo Birnbaum, a founder member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and a freelance player with artists including Vera Lynn and the Beatles. The couple adopted the surname Birney at home, and Brenda’s life became domesticated, with the arrival of a baby. | Invalided out of the Wrens after having contracted ulcerative colitis, in 1947 Brenda married the viola player Leo Birnbaum, a founder member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and a freelance player with artists including Vera Lynn and the Beatles. The couple adopted the surname Birney at home, and Brenda’s life became domesticated, with the arrival of a baby. |
| In her late 40s she became a home and hospital tutor for the Inner London Education Authority, teaching one-to-one those children who could not attend school because of illness, pregnancy, legal action or disruptive behaviour. She found this enormously fulfilling work. At the same time she was extending her knowledge and love of English antique porcelain, bidding at auctions on behalf of the Piccadilly shop Leather & Snook. | In her late 40s she became a home and hospital tutor for the Inner London Education Authority, teaching one-to-one those children who could not attend school because of illness, pregnancy, legal action or disruptive behaviour. She found this enormously fulfilling work. At the same time she was extending her knowledge and love of English antique porcelain, bidding at auctions on behalf of the Piccadilly shop Leather & Snook. |
| Her eye for porcelain came from early purchases of inexpensive pieces which, in time, she sold on to buy better examples. Specialising in early Derby, she went on to become very knowledgable about later 19th- and early 20th-century English porcelain and the artists who decorated it. | Her eye for porcelain came from early purchases of inexpensive pieces which, in time, she sold on to buy better examples. Specialising in early Derby, she went on to become very knowledgable about later 19th- and early 20th-century English porcelain and the artists who decorated it. |
| She finally retired in her mid-70s, and although, after Leo’s death in 2008, she became frail, she remained at home in Golders Green until 2014, helped by live-in carers. She then moved into a nursing home. Her memoir of her time in the Wrens during the second world war was published last year. | She finally retired in her mid-70s, and although, after Leo’s death in 2008, she became frail, she remained at home in Golders Green until 2014, helped by live-in carers. She then moved into a nursing home. Her memoir of her time in the Wrens during the second world war was published last year. |
| Brenda is survived by me and by her grandchildren, Andrew and Gabrielle. | Brenda is survived by me and by her grandchildren, Andrew and Gabrielle. |
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