Owen Brazell
1957 – 2026  

It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of our Chairman, Owen Brazell, who died in a road traffic accident on Monday 16th March.

He was a major figure in British amateur astronomy, well known worldwide for deep sky visual astronomy. Owen was president of the Webb Society and, for many years, editor of its Deep Sky Observer journal. He had held various roles in the British Astronomical Association, including as an Acting Editor of the BAA Newsletter, Meetings Secretary, Assistant Director of the Deep Sky Section and member of the BAA Council. He had also been active in the Federation of Astronomical Societies, as an editor of the FAS Newsletter and a Council member. He was also known to readers of astronomy magazines, as the writer of columns in Astronomy Now. He regularly represented the Webb Society at astronomy conventions and gave talks to astronomical societies throughout Britain. He also wrote the two volume set ‘Galaxy of the Month’, published by the Webb Deep Sky Society. He frequently attended star parties at Kelling Heath and Kielder and also took his telescopes to other dark sky locations. Indeed, he was en route to Kelling Heath when he had his fatal accident.

Owen spent his early years in Toronto, Canada, before moving to the UK and completing his school education at Southwell Minster Grammar School in Nottinghamshire. In 1976, he took up a place at St Andrew’s University, Scotland to study for a degree in astronomy. He started postgraduate studies for an MSc but left these to work in the oil industry, initially in research and development and later in computer systems design. In the 1980s his work took him to Calgary in Canada where, outside of work, he worked with the Calgary Centennial Planetarium and was a council member of the RASC Calgary Centre and editor of its Starseeker journal. By the 1990s he had returned to the UK, living first in Surrey and, later, in Aston Tirrold in Oxfordshire. When in Oxfordshire, he first started attending the recently formed Abingdon Astronomical Society, which is when I first met him. In the early 2000s his work took him to the London area for a few years. When his employer opened new premises in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Owen moved to nearby Faringdon and rejoined Abingdon AS. He joined the committee in 2005 and had been our chairman since 2018.

Owen did much for the Society, introducing visiting speakers, providing short talks and beginners’ meeting talks and editing our newsletter. He organised and led Zoom meetings for our 2020-2021 season during the Covid-19 pandemic. His Covid infection in October 2021 was serious enough to involve a short stay in hospital. He participated in outreach events, bringing well-chosen telescopes, and, as chairman, he chaired our committee meetings. Most of all, he was a deep reservoir of knowledge about the deep sky, general astronomy and telescopes and eyepieces. Owen was always happy to advise fellow amateurs and newcomers to astronomy. He encouraged members to join him for continued discussions after meetings in a nearby pub, where he would drink exclusively Diet Coke. He possessed a wide range of telescopes and high end eyepieces. Owen was a visual astronomer rather than an astrophotographer. However, a year or two ago, he bought a ZWO Seestar S50 and was soon using it to take fine images, particularly of comets.

Beyond astronomy, Owen had a range of other interests. He was very knowledgeable about stone circles, burial chambers and other ancient monuments. He had played table tennis at a county level until relatively recently. He had also volunteered with the British Red Cross, at one time using his all wheel drive vehicle to ferry medical staff to work at a hospital up a snow covered hill. For the past three years, he had been a volunteer at Kelmscott Manor, the 17th century manor house that now houses artwork by its most famous resident, William Morris.

Owen’s sudden death is a major loss to Abingdon AS, to astronomy and, above all, to his family. We shall miss him greatly.