Andrew Arthur Brodie was born in Birmingham on the 16th April 1946. There are no details of his very early life until he was adopted in November of that year and went to live in Blackheath, Birmingham. His early interests featured flying model aircraft. He later blamed the damage to his hearing from running the model engines in enclosed spaces. Andrew went on to be part of the first year intake at a new technical secondary school, which he loved.
By the time he met his future wife, he was working as a computing time-share salesmen, but his interest in Citroëns was already well advanced and he proudly demonstrated the suspension features of his GS to an impressed Janet. He was also interested in electronics and set up an electronics business, naming it Hypertronics. However that business was going to change course as Andrew’s Citroën interest became an obsession and his hobby became his business.
I bought my first Citroën, a CX Safari, over 30 years ago and soon became addicted to these wonderful cars. A DS came next, followed by an SM. An introduction to Mr. Brodie was inevitable and thus a great friendship began. Back then I remember climbing the vertiginous external stairs to the eerie above the workshop at Hypertronics in north London and timidly knocking on the door to await the buzz as it was unlocked from within. I entered the office and parts department of Andrew Brodie’s Citroën emporium and met the man for the first time.
It was to be the first of many such meetings but it was not an auspicious start. I was unsure of the part I required for my SM and an eyebrow was raised as I struggled to identify my requirements. I might even have been addressed as ‘sunshine’ a sure indication that the Brodie doubted your credentials as a true Citroëniste. However such was his dedication to all things Citroën and in particular all things oleo-pneumatic, that once you had demonstrated your enthusiasm for the marque, you were inducted into the Hall of Brodie Citroënism and he would do all he could to help you and your GS/CX/BX/SM such was his love of these wonderful cars. Hypertronics – later to be re-named Brodie Engineering – was much more than just a business dedicated to Citroëns. It became an internationally recognised specialist for the marque and most particularly for Andrew’s great passion, the SM.
In 1992 I formed SeMantics, a new interpretation of the then dormant SM Section of the Citroën Car Club, with a committee initially comprising Graham Lane, John Winney and the late Adrian Furtado. Andrew was also very much part of our team, having already been involved with the Club for some time and his generosity of time and Citroën expertise were invaluable to us from the very start. This generosity defined Andrew’s attitude to fellow Citroënistes. He was tireless in promoting the marque and in helping fellow enthusiasts and he put a great deal of energy into helping the club and its members over several decades.
Andrew built up Citroën connections all over Europe, the ‘States and Australia. Contacts such as Blondeau in Paris, Gerry and Sylvia Hathaway of SM World in California and Peter McLeod in Sydney were all part this network which he cultivated. He spent thousands of pounds of his own money investing in re-manufactured parts for Citroëns and the SM in particular and worked with other specialists and with the SM Club de France, ensuring the availability of parts for our precious cars. It wasn’t just about making money either, but about ensuring the longevity and appreciation of our cars for many years to come.
As our friendship developed my partner Brian and I met a great selection of wonderful people through Andrew, all of who seemed to have green fluid in their veins! People such as retired pilot and aviation enthusiast John Brough and his wife Carolyn from New Zealand, who would think nothing of travelling half way round the world to join Andrew and Janet at a Citroën gathering. Another was the seemingly imperious but actually very kind Margaret Ritson, who lived in a grand house overlooking Monaco and had a 15/6, DS, SM and H-Van in her garage. The H-Van was fitted out with a day bed in the back so Margaret could have an afternoon siesta after her morning shop in the local market followed by a suitably indulgent lunch, often with Andrew as company after he had been working on one of her Citroëns. Also, of course, photographer Martyn Goddard, a superb chronicler who captured some wonderfully evocative images of Citroëns in articles for various classic car magazines instigated by Andrew.
These articles with pictures that Martyn had recorded on his camera were latterly distilled into the excellent book ‘An Omelette and three glasses of wine, en route with Citroëns’ (no doubt with apologies to Elizabeth David). Written principally by the late Phil Llewellin, with other contributions from Dale Drinnon and Paul Horrell, these articles were inspired by Andrew and are fantastic record of him and his Citroën passion.
Of course Andrew was not just about Citroëns, he had two other abiding interests, food and wine, and aviation. As with his Citroën enthusiasm he did not go about these hobbies half-heartedly. For many years he was Chairman and a leading light of the London Branch of the International Wine and Food Society (IWFS). He put tremendous energy into organising gastronomic events, establishing international connections and recruiting new members. At one time the majority of the members of the London branch of the IWFS seemed to be Citroën owners.
Andrew’s other great love was aviation, following from his early interest in model aeroplanes. His grand project was restoring an English Electric Lightning supersonic fighter to full working order! This was to be no small venture, and having found the right plane to work on he had it shipped to the ‘States and recruited a band of expert enthusiasts to go about the task of making this hugely complicated machine airworthy once more. The CAA in the UK would not contemplate certifying such a period plane to fly in this country but the FAA would and the ‘plane is now up and running and may well be airborne soon. It’s a testament to Andrew’s great energy for such a complex project that it has made such progress, but a tragedy that he will never fly in it.
Over the years Brian and I have shared many Citroën adventures with Andrew and Janet. We joined them at SM International and ICCCR events all over Europe and event at an ICCCR in Massachusetts. Andrew always entertained us with his unique and rather ‘left field’ humour, and never failed to put a smile on people’s faces, even if some of them were rather quizzical. If a Citroën had any kind of problem he would be the first one under the bonnet. If there was a discussion about any technical issue, he would be first to offer an opinion. If he was opening a bottle of wine, he would be keen for you to try it with him. To me he was the embodiment of that much-used phrase ‘larger than life’. He may have come across as bombastic and loud to some but this was his way of overcoming the fact that underneath it all he was actually quite a shy man. It also helped mask his poor hearing, which got progressively worse over the years, and which often made it difficult for him, particularly in crowds. If you were lucky enough to be one of his friends, he was generous, loyal and constant. As a man who liked to share his passions we also enjoyed many memorable meals and fine wines with him and Janet. I don’t suppose we’ll now get to fly in that Lightning, however.
The classic Citroën world has lost one of its greatest exponents. I hope Andrew’s great knowledge and experience won’t go to waste and that there will be some sort of legacy, whether it be the book of articles, the many cars that he helped restore over the years or, of course, the revival of a magnificent supersonic ‘plane. I will miss the Brodie tremendously. Rarely a week went by without him calling, hardly a day without an email, be it a reminder to have some work done on one of my cars, a suggestion for a new fine dining experience with him and Janet, or as was the case only last week, an invitation to take up their timeshare option in Aviemore later this month. All the people I mention in this obituary, and many, many more besides, will miss him too. I shall think of him every time I start the engine of my SM, an engine he rebuilt many years ago, and be grateful to have known him and been able to spend so much time with him and his partner in life, Janet.