Bob Bradney, whose career took him across the globe before he settled in a quiet Eden village to follow his love of fishing and nature, has died, aged 93.
Bob was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, the eldest of four children to Canon Samuel and Constance Bradney.
After the family moved to Hertfordshire, Bob was educated at Christ’s Hospital school, in Sussex, and shortly after leaving school was called up for national service.
He signed up with the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and after attending the Officer Cadet Training Unit (OCTU) he was posted with the Royal West African Frontier Force — also known as the “Fleet of Foot” — which had a long association with West Africa, in particular Nigeria.
Bob’s national service was spent mainly in northern Nigeria. After he was discharged at the end of national service, he was not in a position to pursue his first love, farming, and so joined the Colonial Police, stationed in Nigeria.
During this time, Bob’s three children with his first wife, Jean — David Penny and Sarah — were born. He continued to serve in Nigeria for two years after it was made independent in 1960. His final posting was as Chief Superintendent of Police in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna.
Standout moments during his time in Africa included leading a contingent of Nigerian police to the then troubled and war-ridden Congo as part of a UN peacekeeping force.
When rebels attempted to sack the British embassy in Kinshasa, Bob and his comrades defended it from attack.
In a separate incident, a group of Belgian nuns whose remote convent was about to be overrun by rebel forces were whisked to safety by Bob and a “friendly” helicopter pilot whom he had persuaded to help out.
On returning to the UK, Bob joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1965 and remained there until 1986.
The role saw him travelling widely to South America, the Caribbean, and East and West Africa. He enjoyed a two-year posting to Lagos, in Nigeria, on which he was accompanied by his second wife, Sandi, the pair having married in 1974.
On retirement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1986, Bob was invited to serve in the administration of the Sultan of Oman, and he and Sandi moved to the Middle East for three years.
On returning to the UK in 1989, Bob and Sandi bought their house at Hunsonby, drawn to this part of east Cumbria by the opportunities for fly fishing, a sport to which Bob was devoted from boyhood. He was introduced to the Yorkshire Fly Fishers’ Club as a boy, and first fished on the chalk streams of Hertfordshire.
On moving to Cumbria, the rivers Eden and Eamont became his “patch” and he in turn became a passionate advocate for river health, restoration and biodiversity, regularly campaigning against the water companies and others who polluted the area’s waterways and damaged the local ecosystem.
He served on the council of Yorkshire Fly for many years, resigning the role on his 90th birthday. A decade earlier he was made an honorary life member of the club. During his 60 or 70 years fishing, he witnessed an enormous amount of change in the nature of the sport.
Another of Bob’s great interests was Addingham Church, where he served as a churchwarden from 1998 to 2021. He was one of those who oversaw the restoration of the church, successfully applying for large grants to cover the cost of the work.
For 10 years Bob served as a parish councillor at Hunsonby.
In his spare time Bob enjoyed gardening and grew his own vegetables. He loved to plant trees and encourage wildlife to flourish in his garden. He was also devoted to the three Border terriers which he and Sandi owned over many years.
He was a keen reader, and latterly when his eyesight failed, used to enjoy getting his local Herald news through the Talking Newspaper charity.
As well as his three children, Bob had six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
A funeral and burial service was held at Addingham Church on Thursday, with arrangements in the hands of Walkers Funeral Directors, Penrith.
