Taken from the Old Askean Magazine in his presidential year of 2017:
Mike was born in South East London in 1943 and joined Aske’s in 1954. He tells me his mother was interviewed by Ned Goddard whilst he was interviewed by Charlie Prince; his dad was working as a lorry driver for a Waste Paper Company so really couldn’t afford to take time off. Mike says that Ned was quite a daunting gure for his mum but she was certainly not afraid of him. Ned said that his Maths was quite good but his English left room for improvement. He didn’t seem to realise that a different kind of English was spoken in the Old Kent Road area says Mike!
He captained the 3rd Eleven School cricket team and left Aske’s in 1962 with three A Levels and several O Levels. His first job after leaving Aske’s was with Distillers Company for a year and he then studied at the Borough Polytechnic for four years taking a “Sandwich” course in Chemical Technology specialising in Polymer Technology. Following that he worked for Gillette Industries for 3 years and then another 3 years for Van Leers, a Dutch packaging Company who produced steel and plastic drums for the oil industry.
By this time his father had started his own business in the waste paper recycling industry and, since Mike had always wanted to run his own business, he joined his father in the family business in the mid-seventies that later expanded into condential data destruction. The family business currently operates from two sites in the Blackwall Tunnel area and, having passed on the family business to his son, he is soon to retire.
He tells me he will always be grateful for the education he received at Aske’s which was only possible by having brilliant and supportive parents.
He currently lives in Petts Wood and has a son, two daughters and grandchildren and, because it is impossible to go through life without suffering some disadvantages, his wife and himself are, like our ex-President, Charlton season ticket-holders.