PARKHURST PRISONERS: THE AMAZING TALE OF AERONAUT AND BORSTAL BOY BRYNLEY FUSSELL

In this weeks edition of Parkhurst Prisoners, Island Echo looks at the remarkable career of Brynley Fussell, who briefly became the world’s most famous pilot. The story of Bryn Fussell stealing a plane from Bembridge Aerodrome has already been told by Island Echo. A reader asked what became of the 18-year-old lad who took and flew the plane. Here is Bryn’s full story… Bryn Fussell was born in South Wales in 1931. His life of crime began with an unfortunate accident when – at the tender age of 10 – he made an unfortunate experiment with cigarettes, leading to his burning down a haystack. He then stole a bicycle to get away from the scene. Bryn ended up at an approved school near Barry in South Wales, where he had a very bad time. As one of the smallest and most vulnerable of the boys, he was systematically raped by the older boys.  He also claimed to have been almost killed when strung up by the neck with a towel. His mistreatment led to his deciding to escape. He squeezed out of a 3rd floor dormitory window before climbing down a drainpipe to freedom. This was the first of Brynley’s 9 escapes from incarceration. Every time he escaped, he was eventually caught and returned to the authorities, which led to an extended sentence. While on the run in Liverpool, he stole a biscuit tin in which he found £600 (almost £20,000 in today’s values). When caught, the Police charged him with 22 further offences to clear up their unsolved cases. Bryn found himself in an approved school in Morpeth, Northumberland, in 1947. He escaped by stealing a car in which someone had left their keys, making his way to London in a blizzard despite never having driven before in his life. This led to his being incarcerated on the Isle of Wight at the age of 16. Unfortunately, this put him in the company of bigger, even more psychopathic inmates. While on the Island, Bryn escaped 3 times. The 3rd time he was caught in Southampton after rowing across the Solent. He was sent to Rochester in Kent, from where he naturally escaped. Bryn voluntarily returned to the Isle of Wight, thinking that this would be the last place that anyone would look for him. While hiding here, he spent 30s (£1.50) on a half hour trial lesson in a Tiger Moth plane at Bembridge.

He said of flying: “It struck me that it wasn’t as complicated or as hard as they made it seem.” Bryn saw an Auster at Bembridge and reasoned that he could ‘borrow’ it to take him to Ireland to start life afresh. Remarkably, despite only having been in the air for half-an-hour, Bryn succeeded in flying the plane as far as South Wales, where he ran out of fuel. He was picked up by the Police and sentenced to a further 3 years.

In 1950, after further escapes and extensions of his sentence, Bryn ‘borrowed’ a further Auster plane from an aerodrome in Northamptonshire while on the run, which he used to cross the Channel to France. His escapades were now hitting the headlines worldwide. While awaiting extradition back to England, he was visited by (amongst others) aristocrats and ambassadors. MP Sir Ian Fraser said in the House of Commons:

“As this boy will have had 4 months in prison, would it not be a good idea to let him go free when he comes back, and possibly enlist him in the Air Force?”

Bryn received 100s of letters from around the world. One – from aviation writer Geoffrey Dorman – changed his life. Enclosing a copy of his book, British Test Pilots, Dorman wrote:

“If you will only learn to be truly honest and utterly trustworthy, you have it in you to be like one of the men in this book. If you would like me to help you, let me know and I will see what I can do.”

It was the first time in his life Bryn had ever been offered help. After his release from a 21-month stretch in Bedford jail, where he became a model prisoner, Dornan took Bryn to meet engineer Sir Stanley Hooker at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. He was given a job in the engine test department. From this point, Brynley Fussell never looked back. He found a job in the metallurgy department at Swansea University, following which he was taken on by Imperial College London, where he was put in charge of 2 laboratories. He then returned to Swansea University, which he turned into a Centre of Excellence for mass spectrometry. Bryn also found religion, becoming a member of the Baha’i faith. He married, settled down and brought up a family.

Looking back on his life, Bryn said:

“I don’t really have any regrets. My life covered a wide spectrum from the sublime to the ridiculous, extreme despair to great happiness and contentment, hate and love, a truly extreme learning cycle. “Looking back, I wouldn’t change it. Its extremes have enriched my life, and made me thankful for what I have, and what I am.”

Brynley Fussell died on 12th May, 2022, aged 91.