Brian Burgess

(1934 – January 28, 1997)

Brian Burgess; Photo by and copyright © Andrew I Porter

Brian Burgess was a British fan originally from London and later Bournemouth, and active from 1952. He was a member of OMPA, joining in December 1959 as member #101, and of the Science Fiction Club of London. He won the Doc Weir Award in 1987.

In 'A Short Personal History' in Burgess' Lights (September 1960) he said:

I read my first Science Fiction magazine in 1947, it being the 2nd issue of Walter Gillings's Fantasy Magazine. Then, owing to the vagaries of post-war publishing I lost touch with the genre until I came across the 6th issue of New Worlds in the Spring of 1950.

I first came into fandom around November 1952, since then I've graduated from a very raw neo-fan to a very new active fan.

In my SF collection I have 517 magazines, 84 hard covered books, 55 pocket books, and approx 1,700 fanzines.

My favourite authors are: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert E. Howard, Edward Elmer Smith, Wilson Tucker and John Wyndham.

His first convention was Coroncon in 1953 and he was a regular attendee at Eastercons and later Novacons thereafter. An early content provider for British fanzines, he was long remembered for a failed convention prank at Supermancon in 1954. As Walt Willis explained:

But I could mention the interesting affair of Burgess's entrails. These were several pounds of assorted livers, lights and other internal organs which Burgess had bought in London slightly too long ago, brought to the Convention, and deposited in Peter Hamilton's room for safe keeping. Unfortunately he had omitted to tell the occupant of the room about them and when Peter Hamilton found them he thoughtlessly threw them out of the window into the canal. Burgess came around later to collect them and was highly indignant at Peter for putting out his lights.

These entrails were for one of the London fandom Operation Armageddon events intended to disrupt the convention. Burgess explained the story in Burgess' Lights (fanac.org).

He was renowned for bringing suitcases of long life milk and pork pies to conventions and selling them on to desperate fans at cost. Brian Varley described a room party at Bullcon, the 1963 [[Eastercon:

Every so often the seething mass swirled and in one of these Frances and I were erupted into the passageway where Aldiss and Harry Harrison|Harrison]] were in full cry, eventually disappearing down the fire-escape. This was, we discovered later, part of a deep laid plot which led to the Case of the Missing Pork Pies. Great rivalry had broken out between the Burgess Pie Marketing Board and the Aldiss Combine. Returning up the fire-escape the two anti-heroes had broken into the Burgess hideout and, discovering the stock of pies laid out on the bed, had secreted them in the wardrobe. This occasioned Brian no little discomfiture and his heavy tread and dirgeful voice were heard throughout the night as he searched for the missing provender. One up, indeed to Aldiss, but beware the wrath of Burgess in 64!

In 1995, he missed his first Novacon (the 25th) but was awarded the newly-created 'Best Fan' Nova, which helped to make up for it.

When his death was reported in Ansible #115 (February 1997), Greg Pickersgill said:

Brian was a real fan, a genuine enthusiast for science fiction, fantasy, fandom and conventions; he brought the same cheerful optimism to his other interests – he was widely travelled and made friends all over the world, and was something of an authority on G. A. Henty (Wikipedia) – and was a kindly and good-hearted fellow, with maybe rather more than the usual quota of eccentricities, but in every sense one of us.

The Brian Burgess Pork Pie Race

Fanzines and Apazines:

• Authentic SF Checklist [1964] (for OMPA)
• British SF Magazines [1967] (for OMPA)
• Checklist of SF Adventures [1963] (for OMPA)
• Burgess' Lights [1960] (for OMPA)
• Go to Hel [1962] (for OMPA)

There was at least one other Checklist of some kind in OMPA mailing 29. Based on a mailing comment from Norm Metcalf in the 30th mailing this seems to have been post-mailed from Poland.

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1987 – Doc Weir Award
• 1995 – Nova Award for Best Fan

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Person

1934—1997

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