Portsmouth's green-fingered hero Brian Kidd is celebrated with News Years Honours award

FOR more than 40 years, Brian Kidd dedicated himself to supporting green-fingered nature lovers across Portsmouth through his gardening column with The News and his role at the city council.
By Richard Lemmer
Published 30th Dec 2020, 07:00 BST
Brian Kidd, then 65, unveiling 'his' road renamed in honour of his 49-year service to the city of Portsmouth. Picture: Matt Scott-Joynt (033265-32)Brian Kidd, then 65, unveiling 'his' road renamed in honour of his 49-year service to the city of Portsmouth. Picture: Matt Scott-Joynt (033265-32)
Brian Kidd, then 65, unveiling 'his' road renamed in honour of his 49-year service to the city of Portsmouth. Picture: Matt Scott-Joynt (033265-32)

Useful and often amusing horticultural advice was offered from his weekly column and contributions to the Weekend magazine, helping generations of readers to transform their window boxes and gardens.

The committed horticulturalist rose to prominence as Portsmouth’s head of parks and gardens, designing 1,600 acres of open space across the city still enjoyed by visitors to this day.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

His hard work was honoured with Brian Kidd Way in Southsea being named after him, and he was granted the freedom of the city in a glittering Guildhall ceremony in 2013.

Sadly, Brian is longer with us to enjoy the green spaces he adored, as he died at the age of 82 in November.

Speaking in remembrance of the former colleague, The News’s editor Mark Waldron said: ‘As our gardening expert he is irreplaceable but he was also such a great ambassador for The News.

‘I will always cherish the moments we shared each year at our Christmas Carol Service at St Mary's in Fratton where his bible reading was always the most captivating as he held the congregation in the palm of his hand.’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Brian had also regularly appeared as a panellist on BBC Radio Solent’s gardening show and was a popular speaker at meetings across the area, ranging from the Women’s Institute to horticultural societies.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as our new Puzzles section.

Related topics:PortsmouthSouthsea

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.