DOCTOR Brennig James, who spent 40 years as a Marlow GP, has died aged 81 following a short illness.

Dr James, pictured, spent four decades at the Doctor's House surgery in Victoria Road from the early 1950s until 1989.

After retiring, he moved to Llandudno in north Wales. His funeral was held there last Tuesday and his ashes have since been buried in the family grave in Aberystwyth.

Bren' was born in London on January 14, 1926. As a child he was evacuated during the Second World War and sent to school in Cornwall and later in Monmouth.

In 1944 he went to Cambridge University to study medicine and later on at the Royal London Hospital. He spent two years in the Royal Air Force before moving to Marlow where he settled for 40 years working as a GP at what is now known as the Marlow Medical Group.

Meg Bennell, senior secretary, has worked at the Doctor's House since 1979. She said: "He was a great character. He was quite different. He was a very clever and definitely one of the old school' doctors."

Dr James lived on Marlow Common where he built an L shaped house with floor to ceiling windows that was "ahead of its time" in terms of architecture and design.

His sister, Nesta, who is in her 70s, described him as a family orientated man. She said: "He was only married for a short time and did not have any children. When he retired he moved to Llandudno in north Wales to live near our sister, Buddug."

She added: "He was a bit of a loner. He kept coming up with ideas and throwing them out to people. After he retired he did a lot of writing of papers about cybernetics. He was always reading and writing."

Dr James took up gliding as a student and the sport became a lifetime passion for him.

Justin Wills, a fellow member of Booker Gliding Club, described his friend as "a bit of a maverick". He said: "He was the first person in the UK to do a 500km triangle during a gliding competition and he later managed a 1,000km continual flight.

"But his real claim to fame was becoming the first European to glide over the peak of Mount Aconcagua on the border of Chile and Argentina, the highest peak in the world other than the Himalayas at 23,000ft, at the age of 62 after setting off from Santiago."

Dr James also submitted a metal boomerang design to sports authorities in Australia, but it was later banned for being too sharp and potentially dangerous.