The College sadly wishes to inform our members of the death of The Reverend Canon Brian Macdonald-Milne (m.1955). 

The Master, Professor Christopher Kelly, said, "Brian was a long-time close friend of this College. It is his continuing generosity which has enabled the Pacific Island Visiting Fellowship."

Brian, who was born on 29 March 1935, came to Corpus in 1955 as an undergraduate to read the Theology Tripos. He graduated in 1958, then studied at Cuddesdon for Holy Orders and was ordained priest in 1961.

Brian spent his early years as a priest in the Solomon Islands; he went in 1964 to join the Melanesian Mission, played a major role with the Melanesian Brotherhood and was first Vicar-General of the Central Solomons when four dioceses were formed in 1975. He wrote of this time in his book The True Way of Service: The Pacific Story of the Melanesian Brotherhood 1925-2000 and in 2021 published Seeking Peace in the Pacific: The Story of Conflict and Christianity in the Central Solomon Islands. Until 2022, he was Honorary Archivist of The Melanesian Mission UK.

He was rector of Landbeach (a College living since the 1360s) and Waterbeach from 1983 to 1988. He was very proud of the Landbeach links to Corpus and wrote: "The latter has been a Corpus living since the 1360s and the College retains many links with the village; for example, the Choir has given many concerts there. Furthermore, the 18th-century Rector, Corpus Fellow and historian of the College the Reverend Robert Masters is buried in the churchyard and both he and the 16th-century Master (later Archbishop of Canterbury) Matthew Parker lived in the now restored former rectory, a building which has retained its Elizabethan core." 

Brian's incumbency was also an opportunity to reopen his own links to the College, which continued until very recently. He wrote regularly in The Record (and its predecessors) and in a recent edition he reflected on his personal navigation of COVID: "During the pandemic lockdown I have written more poetry than usual. I am a member of Pelican Poets and Writers at Corpus, which includes alumni and alumnae. Ten of my poems have been contributed to the COVID-19 Project at Cambridge University Library." 

Brian at All Saint's Landbeach Church in 2024, where he anointed the church's restored bells.

Brian's long retirement saw him become chairman of the Cambridge Branch of the Retired Clergy Association, which is an honorary and voluntary post and he continued to officiate in the Dioceses of Ely and Chelmsford, usually in the parishes of Waterbeach and Landbeach. At the time of his death, Brian was working on a final memoir, which we hope will be published. The Reverend Canon Brian James Macdonald-Milne died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of 19 September aged 90.

Those who wish to receive details of the funeral arrangements should email Matthew Clarke. A full obituary will be published in The Record.

Main photo: The Reverend Canon Brian James Macdonald-Milne pictured at Corpus with former College Chaplain The Reverend Dr Matt Bullimore.

With thanks to Peter Martland.