Briand Frédéric Tatford died on 17 October 2024 in Nice. He was 97 years old. Born on 29 September 1927 in North London, Great Britain, he was the only son of Frédérick Tatford and Grace Vince. In 1960 he married Hélène Moulin-Racine, who died on 13 December 2022, and they had 3 children: Laurent, Nathania and Maxence.

He began his studies at the London School of Economics. In his teens he wrote and published, under his middle name Barrington, 4 books on British railway networks. In France, as an assistant at the Lycée Montaigne in Paris, then at Louis le Grand, and as a researcher at the University of Grenoble, on 28 January 1958 he presented his doctoral thesis to the IGA in economic geography on : ‘After a short stint as an official at GATT (UN) in Geneva and a period as a teacher in Canada, it was in France that God called him to serve.

Many of us knew him for his particularly fruitful and multi-faceted ministry, and everyone will have ‘their’ memory of Briand.

In the 1960s, Evangelicals in France numbered only a few tens of thousands of believers. Briand began his ministry in Lille, in the north of the country. A man of vision, he had a burden for young people. He founded the association ‘L’Eau Vive’ and started what was probably the first evangelistic coffee bar in France. They left Lille in 1969 and it was Théo PERZ who took up the torch. This vision continued in Reims, in Paris with Eau Vive Ile de France, in Mérindol, a temporary stopover before Ventabren near Aix-en-Provence, where the Tatford family settled. In 1971, at Briand’s instigation, L’Eau Vive Provence was registered and bought a farmhouse to turn it into a holiday, retreat and Bible training centre for young people. Many young people benefited from his ministry and many are still involved in God’s work today.

The Church of Jesus Christ was at the centre of his concerns. He was at the origin of the foundation of several churches and living communities. He belonged to that generation of pioneers who were willing to pay the price of such a commitment. A man of the Word, he also devoted himself to teaching as an honorary professor and lecturer at Bible Institutes and Theology Faculties. His teaching covers topics such as the helping relationship, evangelisation in an urban context and eschatology. He has been a member of the ‘Pastoral Commission’ and the ‘External Relations Commission’ of the Communautés et Assemblées Evangéliques de France (CAEF).

His influence extends beyond France, and he is involved in missionary projects in Africa, notably in Benin where he is a founder member of MIDEV (Mouvement Interconfessionnel de Développement Eau Vive) and in the Maghreb with Eau Vive Mission.

Finally, as Charles Koujoumoudjian, who directed the Eau Vive Provence centre for many years, points out: ‘Briand, trainer, companion, evangelist, his life was marked by the constant desire to bring Christians together and encourage them to work together for the glory of Jesus Christ. His enthusiasm, his zeal and his ability to pass on the Word of God were present right to the end of his life. He is now at the side of the Master whom he served with fervour throughout his life.

The author of the epistle to the Hebrews exhorts us thus: ‘Remember your leaders who proclaimed to you the word of God; consider what was the end of their lives and imitate their faith.’ Heb.13.7 Let us be grateful to God for having given us such a servant, for his wife who accompanied him, both of them today with their Lord, and let us think of their children who, in spite of themselves, had to ‘accept’ the commitment of their parents. They leave us a precious heritage and a considerable responsibility for the future.

Claude Grandjean