My husband, Brian Seller, who has died aged 68 of cancer, was a chartered civil engineer who worked for London Underground for more than 30 years and by retirement had become one of its of principal engineers, working on a large number of projects, including the tube tunnel extension to Heathrow Terminal 4. He particularly enjoyed being involved with the graduate trainee scheme and mentoring young engineers towards chartership.
Born in Kirkcaldy in Fife, Brian was the youngest son of Jane (nee Twiby), a homemaker, and her husband, John Seller, who was in the army. When his father’s work took the family to Coulsdon in Surrey, Brian attended Chipstead Valley school, where he met Christopher Murphy, who became his lifelong friend. The alliance between the two initially formed because their mothers insisted they should start secondary school wearing short trousers.
Later, Brian went to Redhill Technical College and then completed a degree in civil engineering at Hatfield Polytechnic, where he and I met. We became partners in 1976 and married in 1979, settling in East Dulwich in south-east London. Brian bought his first bike there, and began many years of cycling as a commuter, for leisure and on holiday.
After a decade living in London we moved to Forest Row, East Sussex. Despite his long daily commute to London, Brian found time to help with school football, junior golf and to star as Father Christmas at the primary school Christmas fair.
On his retirement we moved to the village of Firle, near Lewes. Brian adapted to his new way of life with ease while I was still working, enjoying weekly pilates classes in Firle, where he made lots of friends, and becoming a member of the Lewes U3A social cycling group.
He also volunteered for the cycling charity Sustrans, becoming their south-east volunteer of the year in 2016, and his involvement in the Bike It project for schoolchildren resulted in him being known locally as “Bike It Brian”. He also promoted cycling among adults by helping out with the East Sussex Active Steps programme.
Brian always voted for Labour or the Green party; he read the Guardian daily and listened to Radio 4 until Sailing By lulled him to sleep. The breadth of his knowledge was at times irksome, especially because by his own admission he rarely read books. He was a good listener and observer of people and the natural world, and had a gentle, dry humour.
Among friends and family he was a renowned cook, and there was always a waiting list for Brian’s Brilliant Marmalade, which was often lightly flavoured with chilli that he had grown in the greenhouse.
He is survived by me, our sons, Paddy and Jonny, and grandson, Barney.
