Bryan William Earl Claxton was born on June 14, 1959 in London, England, the third child of the late Cynthia (nee Amory) and Earl Claxton, members of the Windrush generation who migrated to London from St. Kitts and Nevis in 1955, then to Canada in 1965.

Bryan attended high school in Mississauga where he played championship football and basketball before moving to Montreal to attend Concordia University. There, he began his lifelong love affair with the study of history, especially Black history.

In 1996, Bryan moved back to London and pursued his interest in history through various independent academic endeavours including at the University of London. He learned the city like the back of his hand, acting as a highly knowledgeable tour guide to visiting friends and family. In London, Bryan nurtured his deep love of music and the arts, encouraging young writers to pursue their dreams. He was also known for his sartorial elegance and encyclopedic memory for people, places and events.

Numbers and dates were very important to Bryan: used by him to calculate connections between people and places, and to highlight special milestones. In a January 1, 2020 message, Bryan noted that: "For me, this New Year's Day means I can now say my life has spanned eight decades, though I'm 'only' 60…"

Bryan died in London, England on March 16, 2020. He is survived by his sisters Jackie (Mitchell) and Hazel (Jude); brothers Colin (Shauna), Dug and Greg as well as his aunt and second mother, Shirley Jeffers (nee Amory). Also by nieces Keshia and Brooke and nephews Matthew, Jonathan and Maxwell, as well as numerous cousins, aunts and his Uncle Oriel.

Special thanks to Kim, Floyd, Lynn and Malcolm for their support. Bryan is greatly missed by family and friends in Canada, the UK, the USA and the Caribbean.

An updated video tribute of Bryan is now available https://youtu.be/bvjzn88Xhhg .To view the video tribute copy the link and then paste it to your web browser.
The order of service can be found under the Media tab.

To view the webcasted service that took place on Monday, August 30th go to the "Media" tab at the top of Bryan's main webpage, click on "Videos" and then you can click on the service.