Roger Brunt OB

One of Trowbridge’s best-known characters, driving instructor Roger Brunt has died aged 73.

The former racing champion who turned driving instructor in the early 1980s has taught hundreds to drive over the decades, often appearing laid back in the passenger seat of his familiar red instructor car.

He once said; “I put on an appearance of being laid back but my mind has to work at 1,000 miles per hour as I am constantly reading the road to anticipate situations far enough ahead to advise the students how to deal with them.”

During his successful career in the passenger seat of his instructor car he once had a special pupil who went on to become a Formula One Champion. Jenson Button, son of Roger’s close friend John Button, passed his driving test with the Southwick instructor. When Jenson became a household name Roger was quick to seize the opportunity and had a sign written on the back of his car, ‘if I can teach Jenson Button to drive then I can teach you’.

Roger was brought up at Grove Farm Southwick, the only child of Albert Gerald Brunt and his wife Kathleen. Roger was christened Gerald Roger Brunt but was always known by his second forename, apparently a family tradition, his father Albert was always known as Gerald.

At the age of five Roger was sent to Romney Preparatory School in Bradley Road, Trowbridge, before moving to Southwick Village school. His Secondary School education was at Rodbourne College at Warleigh Manor, he then returned to Trowbridge for a Mechanical Engineering course at the college.

He started his working life as a butcher, originally taught by his father Gerald, and spent 18 years in the trade before making a change in profession to become a driving instructor.

Meanwhile, he was notching up considerable success behind the wheel of various competition cars.

Only two weeks after passing his own driving test, on his seventeenth birthday, he won his class in a Mini in an auto test competition.

He went on to make his name in autocross competitions and was four times national champion .In 1976 he became a works driver for British Leyland. He contested the European rally cross series in a works Mini and was known to fellow competitors as Brunty

Roger, still keeping his interest in competition driving, inevitably turned to cars to make his living as an approved driving instructor, passing all three Approved Driving Instructor exams first time. He started his new career in 1981 and became a well-respected instructor taking on as many as 40 pupils at any one time.

Juggling his day job as a driving instructor, and his interest in competition driving, Roger became the best known passenger seat traveller in town. He also became something of a mechanical genius amassing literally hundreds of trophies won with his home garage developed competition cars. In the later years as a competitive driver Roger won two competition disciplines, the BTRDA autocross champion and the regional sprint race car championship.

Sadly, for the last eight years he lived with kidney cancer and

Roger finally gave up his competitive career. But he did much to raise money for two cancer charities, Lady in Red and Bath Cancer Support group.

But sometimes his softer side shone through. He used to collect the apples from the orchards at Grove farm to take to Rode Bird gardens as a treat for the tropical birds.

Roger was a dedicated family man. He encouraged his daughter Emma to drive from an early age at the Under 17s car club at Castle Combe racetrack, also his son Marcus, who he has helped with his race career.

He often spoke about his grandchildren, who all have Christian names beginning with the initial R. Emma and Simon Cooksey’s children Rian and Ruby and Marcus and Emma Brunt’s children River and Rilan.

Five years ago a Biography titled Brunty was written by local author Steve White. Roger dedicated the book to his Children and Grandchildren.

Roger had a great sense of humour, sporting the pirate’s emblem on his competition car of the skull and crossbones, the ‘Jolly Roger’ which sums up his character.

The Coronavirus means his funeral, with regret, will be for family and guests only, but with so many wanting to pay respects to the much loved character plans are in hand for the hearse to take a last journey from his favourite public house, the Farmhouse, with mourners lining the route to his house in Southwick at 2.30 on 18th June before setting off to Semington Crematorium.