Reg Piesse
At first, the passing of Reginald Piesse was not treated as anything out of the ordinary - certainly in terms of what his three children were told. Anthony Piesse, Reg’s son was not to learn of the full circumstances of his father’s death until the inquest.
Anthony had left the Exclusive Brethren many years before and upon hearing of the death of his father, naturally attempted to discover the funeral arrangements so that he could pay his last respects. A newspaper report at the time hints at the difficulties Anthony faced in such a normal desire:
“I had some difficulty finding out about the funeral arrangements.”
“I went to the cemetery but kept away from my mother and relatives with the Brethren.”
“It would have caused trouble if I had approached my family.”
- NZ Truth, January 1984
As an ex-member of the Exclusive Brethren, Anthony Piesse had been cut off from all normal contact with his family for 13 years at the time of his father’s death. In those situations, it is normal for ex-members to not hear of a loved-ones death until after the event and horrifyingly, sometimes the Exclusive Brethren do not inform ex-members until after the funeral has taken place.
