Britain's Hidden History (BHH) member and friend of Ross Broadstock, Alan Wilson and Baram Blackett, has posted a comment which records the initial response of mentor Alan Wilson, to the news of the sudden death of Ross Broadstock.
Philip Pearson-Every Brown wrote:
"Hi everybody here on BHH. I’ve just had my regular call with Alan Wilson and it was very hard and incredibly sad to break the news to him of the passing of Ross.
He was completely unaware and began our conversation by asking me about the planned, upcoming visits from Ross and myself and if we were able to combine them and the three of us spend time together. I took the decision to tell him of the events of the last 24 hours and his shock was palpable down the phone line. He was quite confused and disbelieving of what I was passing on. I explained as much as I knew and as it began to sink in, he wanted me to help write his initial thoughts to the sad news and so I pass on the following:
“This is an utter, utter shock. I am stunned and not able to quite comprehend the news. My immediate thoughts and heartfelt sympathy go to his family who will feel the loss of a husband and father so deeply at such a young age.”
“At my time of life, names and faces often blur in my memory but Ross was one that always burned brightly and to whom myself and my colleague are forever indebted for helping to shine a light on our research and for the excellent work in promoting Britains real, true and rich history.”
“Events like this just go to show how important it is to seize the day and Ross certainly approached his life and this subject with enthusiasm and energy that I will miss and I’m sure the wider community will as well. I thank Philip for telling me what has happened, not easy to ever be the one to break tragic news, and for writing out my words.”
“I will pass on the news to my colleague who is currently looking after his elderly mother and I’m sure his sentiments and thoughts will mirror mine. I think as we all try to digest and make sense of what has happened, the best thing we can do is ’carry on’. Keep doing the research, keep reading and communicating ideas and keep talking. It is what Ross would want I’m sure.”
Still reeling from the sudden and tragic news of Ross's death, Philip Brown echoes the sentiments of everyone who knew Ross Broadstock and his family.
He finished the Facebook message:
"My thoughts and love go to Angela and the boys and to all those who are feeling this loss, I know collectively they can rely on us for support outside their immediate family and friends.
My thoughts and love go to Angela and the boys and to all those who are feeling this loss, I know collectively they can rely on us for support outside their immediate family and friends.
It was hard talking to Alan about this and I really did wonder whether to put up his words but I have been contacted by so many people throughout the day about Alan’s and Baram’s reaction that I thought it best to pass them on.
In all honestly, I think Alan was so taken aback that it was hard for him to speak coherently at times and at the point I needed to end the call because I was heading into a meeting, we both more or less said the same thing. The real tragedy for us directly, was that we lost a dear, dear friend and someone irreplaceable."
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