Brian Plummer, also known as David Brian Plummer (11 September 1936 – 12 September 2003), was a British writer, teacher and
dog breeder
Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected dogs with the intention of maintaining or producing specific qualities and characteristics. When dogs reproduce without such human intervention, their offspring's characteristics are determined by ...
.
Background
In 1977, Plummer appeared on
Richard Whiteley
John Richard Whiteley (28 December 1943 – 26 June 2005) was an English presenter, and journalist, best known for his twenty-three years as host of the game show ''Countdown''. ''Countdown'' was the launch programme for Channel 4 at 4:4 ...
's ''
Calendar'' regional news programme, during which a
ferret became 'latched' onto Whiteley's fingers. A blasé Plummer showed little concern for the pain Whiteley was in, instead telling him that if the ferret had been serious the bite would have been "through to the bone. He's playing with you."
Growing up in the austere years around
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Plummer based some of his biographical stories in and around the valley in which he grew up. Some of the stories involve friends, members of the village community, and bizarre members of his own family.
After a stint of
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The ...
, Plummer trained to be a teacher and worked in various areas of the United Kingdom, including
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
and
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
. In his books he hints at various 'episodes' in his life including a couple of abortive spells of self-sufficiency, a period of travel abroad as a
gamekeeper
A gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper), or in case of those dealing with deer (deer-)stalker, is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g. areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure there is enough game for s ...
in Germany and Eastern Europe, some time as a professional boxer in America, and various periods of deep depression.
Documentaries
The UK television documentary maker
Barry Cockcroft made several documentaries about Plummer, including ''A Way Out of Walsall'' (1985), which is about Plummer's training pupils of the local
Forest Comprehensive School
Forest Comprehensive School was a secondary school located in Hawbush Road, Harden, Walsall, West Midlands, England.
It was built during the 1950s to serve the council housing estates in the Blakenall Heath, Harden, Goscote and Coalpool
Coal ...
for the world of professional boxing, and ''Lone Furrow'' (1987), which looks at the preoccupation of Plummer with his dogs, which have been
rat-catcher
A rat-catcher is a person who kills or captures rats as a professional form of pest control. Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of diseases, most notoriously the Black Death, and to prevent d ...
s, and his current wish to cross the Highlands pulled by a pack of
German shepherd
The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899.
It was originally bred as a herding dog, for ...
dogs. Another producer,
Michael Croucher, made a 1981 documentary entitled ''Hunting Man'' about Plummer, formerly a full-time hunter and later a teacher and writer, who at that time still hunted in the fast-disappearing countryside around
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
.
Dog breeding
The
Plummer Terrier
The Plummer Terrier is a working terrier. It was originally bred by Brian Plummer to hunt vermin, especially rats. The breed, while unrecognized by any kennel club, is known for its rugged determination and hardiness.
Origins and history
I ...
, a breed of dog that he developed, is named after him.
Death
After suffering a heart attack in 1985, Plummer moved to
Caithness with a plan to breed German shepherd dogs, then finally settled in
Abington, in
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...
. He died on 12 September 2003.
Books
* ''The Jack Russell Terrier'' (1976).
* ''Rogues & Running Dogs'' (1976).
* ''Modern Ferreting'' (1978).
* ''Tales of a Rat Hunting Man'' (1978).
* ''The Working Terrier'' (1978).
* ''The Complete Lurcher'' (1979).
* ''Adventures of an Artisan Hunter'' (1979).
* ''Nathan – A Pit Fighting Dog'' (1980).
* ''The Complete Jack Russel Terrier'' (1980).
* ''Lepus'' (1981).
* ''Diary of a Hunter'' (1981).
* ''The Hunters Yearbook'' (1981).
* ''The Hunters Yearbook'' (1982)
* ''Merle – The Start of a Dynasty'' (1982).
* ''The Fell Terrier'' (1983).
* ''Omega'' (1984).
* ''Practical Lurcher Breeding'' (1985).
* ''Hunters All'' (1986).
* ''North & North Again'' (1987).
* ''Off the Beaten Track'' (1987).
* ''Trog'' (1988).
* ''The Cottage at the Edge of the World'' (1990).
* ''In Pursuit of Coney'' (1991).
* ''The Complete Book of Sight-Hounds'' (1991).
* ''Secrets of Dog Training'' (1992)
* ''The Sporting Terrier'' (1992).
* ''Ferrets'' (1993).
* ''Lurcher & Longdog Training'' (1993).
* ''Plummers Yearbook'' (Various 1994/95).
* ''The Development of the Dog'' (1995).
* ''The New Complete Lurcher'' (1998)
* ''Polly: A White German Shepherd'' (1999)
* ''Practical Dog Breeding'' (2000).
* ''The Modern Lurcher under the pseudonym Michael Shaw''
* ''The Modern Working Terrier under the pseudonym Michael Shaw''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plummer, Brian
1936 births
2003 deaths
Welsh writers
Dog breeders