Tributes to Blackburn man, 47, known as 'Joker' (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Tributes to Blackburn man, 47, known as 'Joker'
6:40pm Tuesday 7th September 2010 in
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- By David Watkinson » Deputy news editor
A BLACKBURN man who suffered from the same rare condition as Elephant Man Joseph Merrick has died aged 47.
Peter Bradley, who was known to his family and friends as Joker, died last week after years of battling neurofibromatosis.
The dad of two, of Brothers Street, Mill Hill, was only diagnosed with the condition when his first daughter was born at the age of 28.
But the mother of his children, Andrea Brighouse, 40, said that in recent years he was blighted with tumours in his face, cheeks, neck and spine.
The tumours in his spine caused him difficulty breathing and ultimately led to a decline in his health.
But Mrs Brighouse, who runs a facility for children with learning difficulties in Mill Hill, said that he also had a problem with alcohol and drugs, which she believed contributed to his death.
The former Witton Park High School pupil also spent time in prison, she said, mainly for drugs offences.
He died on August 29 at home and an inquest is set to take place to discover the cause of his death.
The former council groundsman leaves two children Lora, 22, and Jamie, 21.
Mrs Brighouse said: “He adored and idolised his children.
“Peter was unique, and although his life was short it was certainly well packed.
"Everything he did he did to extreme.
“He was known as Joker because he was quick with his mouth and hilariously funny.
"He was relentless at winding people up.
“His neurofibromatosis affected him both physically and mentally and over the past five years his health really started to deteriorate.
“The tumour on his spinal cord in particularly slowed him down and started to cut off his windpipe.”
Neurofibromatosis is a genetically-inherited disorder in which the nerve tissues grow tumours.
Just 18,000 people in the UK suffer from the condition.
Mr Bradley suffered from type one neurofibromatosis.
It is thought Joseph Merrick suffered from a combination of neurofibromatosis and Proteus syndrome.
Mr Bradley’s funeral takes place at Pleasington Crematorium on Friday at 11.30am.
A wake will follow at Pitchers bar in Blackburn town centre.
Comments(18)
excaliber
says...
9:08am Wed 8 Sep 10
Theo
says...
9:11am Wed 8 Sep 10
happycyclist
says...
10:18am Wed 8 Sep 10
A man has died -something that happens to us all- and his friends and family should be respected in their time of mourning.
But there are also people who will not be mourning. Many years ago he had a less than wholesome reputation and was feared by law-abidng people.
I agree with excaliber that it is disrespectful to make a reference to the Elephant Man, but don't agree that it is irrelevant to mention points of reference in a man's life (drink, drugs, prison).
Please show a modicum of respect, LT, and pull this article.
excaliber
says...
12:09pm Wed 8 Sep 10
happycyclist wrote:Note that the reference to drink and drugs is not a direct quote by his partner, and I dont think she would mentioned these facts - if indeed she did - if she knew they were going to be used in this muck raking way. It's for the inquest to decide whether they were relevant to the cause of death, anything else is speculation and an affront to the grief of his family.
This whole report/article is unsavoury.
A man has died -something that happens to us all- and his friends and family should be respected in their time of mourning.
But there are also people who will not be mourning. Many years ago he had a less than wholesome reputation and was feared by law-abidng people.
I agree with excaliber that it is disrespectful to make a reference to the Elephant Man, but don't agree that it is irrelevant to mention points of reference in a man's life (drink, drugs, prison).
Please show a modicum of respect, LT, and pull this article.
Paul Cockerton
says...
2:28pm Wed 8 Sep 10
st: the full contents of this tribute article were relayed to the family before its publication, and they were happy with it all.
MHUK
says...
3:29pm Wed 8 Sep 10
excaliber wrote:Totally agree this article by the LT is absolutely disgusting,I read it at work this morning and was shocked to say the least.
It is also disrepectful of the reporter to make reference to Elephant man, as though poor Mr Bradley was some kind of human curiosity. It is also irrelevant to mention his "drug and alcohol problems", though this is the kind of thing we can expect from a dirt digger like David Watkinson
RIP JOKER(Mill Hill legend)
useyourhead
says...
4:21pm Wed 8 Sep 10
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I wonder how many of the readers would have known who Joseph Merrick was without the albeit now un-p.c reference?
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It's not as though they said HE was the new elehant man or the modern day elephant man or any reference like that!
Paul Cockerton
says...
4:23pm Wed 8 Sep 10
MHUK wrote:As I have said above, we ran through the whole tribute article with Peter's family before it went to print, and they were completely happy with it.
excaliber wrote: It is also disrepectful of the reporter to make reference to Elephant man, as though poor Mr Bradley was some kind of human curiosity. It is also irrelevant to mention his "drug and alcohol problems", though this is the kind of thing we can expect from a dirt digger like David WatkinsonTotally agree this article by the LT is absolutely disgusting,I read it at work this morning and was shocked to say the least. RIP JOKER(Mill Hill legend)
Lancs Lassie
says...
5:49pm Wed 8 Sep 10
inventorian
says...
6:12pm Wed 8 Sep 10
excaliber
says...
7:02pm Wed 8 Sep 10
Paul Cockerton wrote:And I suppose you told them that you were going to publish a picture of the Elephant Man next to Mr Bradley's photo, and that they were "completely happy" with that?
MHUK wrote:As I have said above, we ran through the whole tribute article with Peter's family before it went to print, and they were completely happy with it.
excaliber wrote: It is also disrepectful of the reporter to make reference to Elephant man, as though poor Mr Bradley was some kind of human curiosity. It is also irrelevant to mention his "drug and alcohol problems", though this is the kind of thing we can expect from a dirt digger like David WatkinsonTotally agree this article by the LT is absolutely disgusting,I read it at work this morning and was shocked to say the least. RIP JOKER(Mill Hill legend)
Woody Riversider
says...
10:16am Thu 9 Sep 10
Our passion for 'The Clash' & our last social sit down for the Mick Jones gig down in the North Bar suggests you still knew your roots of great 'Rock & Roll'
Life was/is for living pal & I salute you for yours.
On another note I would surmise 'Joker' would have had no problem with this article. He lived in a/the real world & would wish for no smoke screen to it !!
As Mick Jones once stated:
'Go easy, step lightly, stay free'
RIP Joker
Aye.
Proud to be from Blackburn but live in canada now.
says...
1:09pm Thu 9 Sep 10
Hugh Jardon
says...
3:01pm Thu 9 Sep 10
RIP
nellybean
says...
9:53pm Thu 9 Sep 10
martinmurf
says...
1:16pm Fri 10 Sep 10
Joyal
says...
8:28am Mon 20 Sep 10
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TRIBUTES: Peter Bradley in recent times
TRIBUTES: Peter Bradley before the neurofibromatosis developed
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8:55pm Tue 7 Sep 10