Obituaries
From left to right: Mike Hargreaves, Martin Bell, Ed Spark, Bill Young, Eric Beston,
Ron Pearson, John Hargreaves, Barry Matthews and Dave Guy.
Michael John Hargreaves (54-61) Born 1943, died April 2011, aged 67. Michael died in St Albans after a long and courageous fight against cancer. He leaves his wife Mary, daughter Sarah and son John.
particular skills in tunnel work; principally major drainage, sewerage and culvert projects. He managed many sites in various locations around the country and only space prevents the re-telling of his amazing and funny stories about working with the mainly Irish labourers. Although Mike would often say, with typical selfdeprecating humour, that his sewers rarely met in the middle, he was, in fact, very good at his job. Indeed he made a great success of his career because he had that rare ability to communicate easily with labourers, senior management and large corporate clients. He retired in 2009 as a senior consultant with Murphy Civil Engineering Group working on major projects for Thames Water.
Mike – also known in his younger days as ‘Haggis’ – followed his elder brother David (53-59) into school and soon made his mark as a mean rugby player. He became a regular 1st XV wing forward in a formidable team being coached in the modern game by the then recently appointed John Elders. Mike’s particular forte was the trailing foot that mysteriously Whilst at school, Mike was one of many felled the opposition around the scrum who sailed on the Norfolk Broads with and was rarely spotted by the ref. Green Wyvern Yacht Club. He continued to sail the Broads after school, introducing Mike moved on to King’s College his wife Mary and later his family to the Newcastle to acquire his degree in experience. At a reunion of old school Civil Engineering. He first joined Balfour friends, the idea was raised of resuming Beatty where he found himself acquiring
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Broads cruising together. Mike organised the first cruise in June 1994 and he, his son John, Barry Matthews (52-62), Martin Bell (50-61), Dave Guy (58-62), Ed Spark (54-62), Ron Pearson (54-62), Eric Beston (54-62), Bill Young (54-62) and assorted brothers and sons of the same have sailed every year since then. The Broads crew will miss Mike’s cavalier style of sailing (occasionally losing bowsprits) but, with others, will really miss his dry wit and the sure knowledge that he was a true and reliable friend. His family will miss a loving and caring husband and father. Bill Young (54-62)
