BENJAMIN BREEG; THE TRUTH AT LAST; 14/8/2006;

I feel that my search may be over.
The person who contacted me from Romania is coming to meet me.I feel that his arrival will finally give me the answers I seek regarding Benjamin Breeg. I can hardly contain myself at the thought of speaking to this man who says that he also has something else belonging to my cousin. He would not, however, be specific about what it was but he mentioned a journal. I wondered if he could mean my cousin's diary. But I could not imagine how or why this man would be in possession of Benjamin Breeg's diary.
The same diary from whose pages I have already read? Surely this cannot be.

The man is due to arrive in this country on 18th August. I only hope that the problems caused at the airports by the terrorist alerts do not prevent him from coming.However, he was most insistant that I not meet him at the airport. He said he would come to my house (I forwarded my address to him).

He also mentioned that he would tell me all he knew about my cousin. He hinted that Benjamin Breeg had taken something from him that he wanted returned but he would not say what it was.I cannot imagine my cousin was a thief and I am sure that the man will explain everything when he arrives.

I am nervous and excited at the prospect of this meeting.There is so much about my cousin that I need to learn and I cannot imagine this man would travel so far if the trip were not in his best interests.I eagerly await his arrival.There are many mysteries to be solved and I feel that he will provide the answers I have so far been unable to obtain.I must admit to finding his need for secrecy a touch irritating.I would have been only too happy to meet him wherever he arrived in this country but he was adamant I should not. Just as he was insistant I should be alone in the house when he arrived.
Most strange though is his reluctance to tell me his name.

He says I will learn the answer to this riddle when we meet. I hope so.
As I hope to discover the truth, at last, about Benjamin Breeg.

A. BREEG.

BENJAMIN BREEG; SOME CLUES AT LAST; 11/8/2006;

I have seen a painting by Benjamin Breeg. As far as I know it is the only one that still remains in existence. But, at last, I have seen it.

I returned from Paris yesterday (after encountering horrendous problems at the airports in both France and London because of the terrorist threats) having viewed the painting and my excitment has been almost uncontrollable ever since.To have finally seen one of the pieces of work my cousin created was a great thrill for me. Unfortunately, my excitment at seeing this creation was tempered somewhat by the fact that it has brought me no closer to discovering the whereabouts of my missing relative or to revealing what became of him. However, I hope that will be rectified very soon. For the time being I will content myself with having viewed something I thought I would never see.



The canvas is three feet square. I don’t know how well my photo will reproduced, but the work painted is signed in the bottom right hand corner simply B. BREEG.
I am certainly not an expert when it comes to matters of art but I would say that the work is an abstract painting. All the colours look to have been applied to the canvas with powerful, almost angry strokes.
However, immediately visible to me among the apparently random applications of paint is a face. I know from my research into my cousin that he painted what he saw in his dreams and this face certainly has the distorted and almost surreal quality that one would associate with a vision seen in the subconscious.
I could imagine him waking from one of these dreams and immediately committing the image to canvas. Anxious, possibly, to rid his mind of it as much as anything else.
It certainly wasn't very pleasant.

The owner of the painting (who, I must say, was extremely helpful and friendly during my stay) informed me that he himself had purchased it from a source in Romania.I was reminded of the e-mail containing the nine Romanian words that I received. Could the person who contacted the Benjamin Breeg website be the same one who had previously owned the painting I saw? I hope so but I fear that this is too much of a coincidence. My efforts to contact this person have remained useless and,
so far, I have had no further communication from him. As before, when I try to send e-mails back to the sender they are 'bounced'. Can I ask that person now, if they are looking at this site on a regular basis, to please contact me and leave an address where I can contact them by letter if necessary (I hope they understand English)

I took some photos of the painting with my camera so that at least I have a more permanent record of my cousin's work. Despite the fact that it is a little disturbing, it is still the only example I have of his quite obvious talent. If only I had more of his diary too. Perhaps then I would be in a position to discover what may have become of him.
One painting. Some pages from his diary and lots of hearsay and rumours are all I have at present. I need help but I don't know who it might come from.

A. BREEG.

At last. I have been contacted by the sender of the e-mail that arrived from Romania.
After numerous attempts of mine to reply to his first contact he has sent another communication to me. Fortunately, this time in English.
I hope that when I speak to him he will be able to explain the circumstances surrounding the nine words he initially sent to me.

The translation of those words is as follows;

HERE LIES A MAN OF WHOM LITTLE IS KNOWN.

My first thought was that these were the kind of words that normally adorn gravestones and, knowing that my cousin's first job was the inscribing of headstones, I wonder if the words are his.

A. BREEG.

BENJAMIN BREEG; FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS; 26/7/2006

I continue to be amazed by the number of people who are contacting this website, offering information about my cousin, Benjamin Breeg.

Some claim to have seen his work, some that they have met him as recently as six years ago. If only I had concrete proof of this. I began my search for him more than two years ago but I am still no nearer to knowing even if he is alive or dead. As much as I appreciate the interest, I am afraid that I have been forced to treat many of the communications with a pinch of salt due to the fact that such a large number of the e-mails have been in connection with a record that is to be released soon. However, I find myself in turmoil because part of my mind accepts that the use of my cousin's name in the title of this song must be a coincidence while the other part insists that this avenue of research may be a way of finding out some information about him.

I intend to visit the record company of the group who have recorded this song with a view to speaking to someone about how they came to know of his name. I have already contacted them by phone but they were dismissive of my enquiries. If I present myself in person then surely they won't be able to disregard me so easily.

I have tried to reply to as many of the e-mails as possible but the sheer volume of them is preventing me from pursuing all but the most promising.

My attempts to contact the sender of the message that came from Romania have, so far, remained unsuccessful but I am still waiting for a translation of the Romanian words they included in their last communication. Hopefully, when this is completed I will have more information to help me trace my missing cousin.

There have been two very interesting e-mails however, one from a private art collector in Paris and another from a seller of rare books in London.
The art collector claims to have seen a painting by my cousin that was thought to have been destroyed (as were his other sketches and paintings).Unfortunately, he did not specify in his e-mail whether or not the painting was actually in his possession but, I will have to hope that even if he does not own the painting he can at least tell me where it might be.If I can see it and positively identify it as having been painted by Benjamin Breeg then I may well be able to move my investigations along.
The seller of rare books, I assume (and hope), might have information about one or more of the four books my cousin wrote. I will contact him later today as he was kind enough to include an address and phone number. I sincerely hope that one, or both, of these people will be able to help me in my attempts to trace my missing cousin.

A. Breeg.

BENJAMIN BREEG; A FURTHER DISCOVERY; 20/7/2006

Firstly, I would like to apologise to all the kind people who have seen fit to contact the web site I set up concerning my cousin, Benjamin Breeg.
Normally, I would have updated the site more quickly but I have just returned from an extended trip to the Caribbean (Haiti to be precise. A place I know my cousin lived for some time during the 1960's). I was overwhelmed by the number of people who have visited this site recently, expressing an interest in my missing relative, Benjamin. I was staggered by the number of hits the site had received.

Most puzzling of all, however, has been the large number of fans of a pop group called Iron Maiden who have contacted the site. Apparently, this group are releasing a song called THE REINCARNATION OF BENJAMIN BREEG. Naturally, the very mention of the name Benjamin Breeg was of interest to me and I wondered if they could possibly know something about my cousin.
I tried to contact their record company to discover how they knew of my relative. Unfortunately when I did manage to speak to someone in authority, they were unable to give me a satisfactory explanation as to how my cousin's name came to be used in the title of the song. It may well be a coincidence that this group have chosen this name to use in one of their songs but, the fact that it is such an unusual name convinces me that they have heard of my cousin and, possibly, about his work.If this is the case, then I would urge them to contact me immediately.

The same applies to anyone who may possess any information about my cousin. Please get in touch with me via the website as soon as possible.

One of the most intriguing e-mails I received came from Romania. It was of particular interest because I know that my cousin lived there between 1966 and 1969. Unfortunately there was no sender's name on this e-mail and, each time I tried to reply to it, the e-mails that I sent 'bounced back'. Consequently, I was
unable to make contact with the sender.The communication contained only nine words, all of which, unfortunately, were in Romanian. I am in the process of having these words translated into English.I hope that when this translation is completed, it will be of some help to me in tracing my missing relative. In the meantime, I would appreciate it if the sender of this message could contact me again leaving an address where I can contact him.

A. Breeg.

My Grandmother died two years ago and I was left with the task of emptying her house of her belongings. As well as the usual furniture, ornaments and personal belongings I came across several boxes of old photos and letters that she'd kept. In one of these was a photo of a family member who I didn't recognise. I asked all my relatives who the man was but none of them seemed to know either which I thought was strange. However, a cousin of mine, who emigrated to Australia, told me that the photo was of Benjamin Breeg. It had been taken in 1977, the year before he disappeared.

I was intrigued by him and began researching his background. It took over a year of visiting places and people before I managed to piece together enough information to create this website. I spoke and corresponded with anyone who had ever met him or known him. Unfortunately, no one, including the police, could help me discover how or why he disappeared. I'm still trying to find answers but I created this site in the hope that it will keep his memory alive and also, that it might eventually help me to discover what happened to him. If there is anyone out there who might be able to help me find him, I would be eternally grateful. If you have any genuine information, please email me.

A. Breeg.

Benjamin Breeg

Benjamin Breeg was born in London on September 3rd, 1939.
After the deaths of his parents in a house fire in September, 1947, Breeg was sent to an orphanage in the East End. The cause of the fatal fire, to this day, remains unexplained. Breeg himself was present in the house at the time but escaped unharmed.

He was a bright child but very solitary, prompting one of his carers at the orphanage to state: "He has the demeanour of a child who seems to bear more weight upon his shoulders than any person should. What goes on behind his eyes makes one wonder what's troubling him." As well as his academic interests, Breeg also became interested in The Bible and expressed a desire to join the clergy.

Breeg was fostered by three families between 1947 and 1950 but each time, he was returned to the orphanage, unable to settle in any of the new homes that had offered to raise him.It was on his tenth birthday in 1949, that he began to experience nightmares that he himself later described as "the most vile and tortuous I have ever endured." Despite this, he went on to develop incredible talent as an artist and produced a large number of drawings, sketches and paintings. However, none of these survive and are believed to have been destroyed by Breeg himself. To this day, no one knows why. The subjects of these paintings, however, supposedly caused great consternation and distress among those who Breeg allowed to view them.

The verdict of one close friend who saw some of Breeg's work is as follows: "He says he paints what he sees. If this is true, I can only thank God I have no window into his mind."

Breeg's first job on leaving the orphanage, in 1954, was at a local Undertakers, where he was given the task of engraving headstones. His interest in the Bible had by now turned into what a colleague deemed to be "obsessive". He lived alone and little is known about his life between 1955 and 1959 other than that his interest in joining the clergy diminished. His obsession with the Bible, however, did not.

Breeg travelled widely between 1960 and 1970, visiting many different countries. Living for two years in Haiti before travelling to Eastern Europe where he lived between 1966 and 1969. He was forced to flee from Romania in 1969 following local Police investigations. He returned to England in March 1971. Upon his return, he was offered a position with the International Institute of Paranormal Investigation which he accepted.

Breeg wrote four books between 1971 and 1977. None of these, as far as can be ascertained, remain in print. All, however, concern the sights and cultures Breeg experienced while travelling. The emphasis in all four volumes is on the Occult practices of the countries visited.

Benjamin Breeg disappeared from his home on June 18th, 1978. All efforts to locate him proved unsuccessful.