I’ve known Mike since we were 5 years old. Mike was born in 1938 when his parents were living in Crosspool, Sheffield. I was born almost 2 weeks later but my parents didn’t move to Crosspool till I was about 5 years old, just in time to go the Lydgate Lane Infant and Junior School. We both lived within a hundred yards of each other so walked the 10 minutes to and from school each day. We were soon joined by a few others and this walk cemented lifelong friendships which have been a major factor in my life and I think in Mike’s as well both our lives.
Mike’s parents, Vera and Bill, were always very welcoming to we children. Bill had been stationed in Scotland for the early part of the war but just after the war he started a company which sold and repaired TV’s, using his radio experience from the forces. This meant that they had a TV before anyone else, and in addition, had a 4ft by 6ft snooker table. This, and the fact that Vera was always seemed pleased to see us, meant we spent a lot of spare time there. She had owned a hairdressing business and later did some hairdressing for friends at home so wasn’t so keen for us to be there at those times. I have to say we weren’t so keen to be there either for it usually involved a ‘Toni perm’ to curl the hair, which didn’t smell too good. She and we understood the situation and it caused smiles between us.
From being young Mike always talked sparingly and was never what you would call flippant. He seemed to think carefully before giving his view and because of this I don’t think I ever had an argument with him. If it became clear that our opinions on a subject were not the same I would hold forth then he would carefully put together his response. Then I (or anyone else for he was the same with everybody) would have to think carefully before speaking again. It resulted in a reasonable discussion rather than an argument.
Looking back I think this was a major contribution to the fact that he was always good company and fun to be with.
He, like most of our group, enjoyed sport of all kinds. We played cricket or football in the local field for hours on end, depending on the season. He was a very good off-spin bowler and at grammar school captained the school team. He was an enthusiastic football player and an ‘ever present’ for our local Crosspool Corinthian team, an institution which we all thoroughly enjoyed and which cemented a lot of our lasting friendships. On one occasion I was particularly grateful to Mike. At Junior school he was in the Rugby Touch team but I wasn’t. For fun he and I had practiced on the road running at full pace and passing the ball to each other. Then someone dropped out of the team I moved in and our passing practice showed up to good effect and I remained in the team from then on. We got to the Sheffield district schools final, a day of distinction for both of us, so thanks Mike.
A few years ago I was in the local pub with a friend when a lady he knew came to chat. It transpired that she’d also lived in Marsh Lane as a child, just as Mike had. She was just 3 years younger than us but asked if I still knew any of the children of the time. I mentioned Mike, whereupon she said ’Oh, he was lovely and kind’. We of course asked if he was more lovely and kind than we were, to which she answered ‘Yes’. It turned out that at age 9 he’d given her a ride on the back of his sledge. How nice to do a kind deed which a girl remembers for more than 70 years
At the end of our school life Bill’s company was thriving and had a fleet of Ford Thames vans. Bill offered Mike the use of one of these vans to go on holiday where he wished. Mike and I had passed our driving tests, so we with Mike Barron and Roger Axe as navigators in charge of the route, headed off to Europe. Looking back Bill showed more faith in us than was probably justified. The beauty and distraction of Lake Como when traffic was only crawling along resulted in a smallish bump. Then we drove up a road in Milan and parked before we realised that all the other cars were pointing against us. Clearly a one way street but before we could put matters right the gendarme arrived. We tried to explain that we had reversed down the road in the correct direction but would now turn round and go the correct way. The gendarme made clear he had seen us all the time and an ‘on the spot’ fine resulted. We eventually arrived home safely after an amazing and memorable holiday, thanks to Mike and Bill.
After school Mike went to Manchester University whilst I stayed in Sheffield so we only met during the holidays or when a group of us visited Manchester for a weekend. Then we started work in different parts of the country. Mike met Heather and formed their perfect pairing and enjoyed family life. I met Fay and a different stage of our lives started and I’m sure there are others who will be able to describe this part of Mike’s life better than me.
From the age of 21 our group of friends met together each year for 16 years till family life and work commitments caused a break. Then we were fortunate in that one of our number, Doug Newton and Hazel owned a hotel in Torquay and kindly invited us all to stay there in January of each year till they retired. Then we continued to meet elsewhere so that we have maintained our friendships and come together annually for the last 25 years. Mike, with Heather, has been to every one of these events and has been a stalwart and valued friend to everyone. He has always been very enjoyable company and an honourable and reliable friend. He will be greatly missed by myself and, I’m sure, by all his other friends.