old perseans
Obituaries Robin Harvie-Smith (1952)
Ingeborg Harvie-Smith writes: Robin completed his National Service in the Far East and then joined Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1955 to read Law and Economics. Subsequently, he joined the Legal and General Insurance Company in London where he stayed until 1971, having been promoted to Head of Marketing for the Pension Division. A short spell with the National Mutual of Australasia in 1973 followed. He then joined the Atlantic Assurance and was responsible for the marketing campaign that raised £60 million of premium income in the first year of operation. This was followed by serving on the management team of Jessel Securities. Subsequently, Robin was appointed Managing Director of Hodge Life in Wales which became the Life Assurance arm of the Standard Chartered Bank. Previously of excellent health, in 1985 Robin underwent a quadruple heart bypass at the
Michael J S Collins (1951)
Nigel Collins & Elizabeth Mikkelsen write: Michael had many wonderful memories of his time at The Perse, of great lifelong friendships that developed, of acting in plays (alongside the late Peter Hall), of hockey, cricket, tennis and cross country running.
Robin Harvie-Smith as the Second Gravedigger in the Perse Players’ Production of Hamlet, 1949.
age of 52. This was an era when employers were rather more reticent to offer employment to anyone with such a medical history than they would be today. Conventional employment for Robin therefore ceased and he applied his energy and enthusiasm to a variety of projects, including the travel
industry and antiques, in which he became a respected figure until this death in May 2017. Throughout his life Robin was proud to be a citizen of, and to have been educated in, Cambridge. Robin leaves a widow, Ingeborg, and is survived by three of his four children.
After military service, Michael resumed his education, returning to Peterhouse, Cambridge where he read History. In 1956, Michael joined British Petroleum (BP) as a trainee and in 1958, he married Mary Bergh. In 1960, Michael received a posting to Australia: first Melbourne, then on to Queensland where he worked as a sales representative marketing fuels to the extensive farming community. Having been with BP for some 18 years, Michael took a new career opportunity in tertiary and management education, joining the Caulfield Institute of Technology in 1974. In 1978 Michael fulfilled his vision to provide specific courses for the retail industry and so the first Retail Management course was born. Over time, and with much persistence and his usual infectious enthusiasm,
this led to the establishment of the Australian Centre of Retail Studies, part of Monash University, in 1990. Michael remained head of the Centre as Associate Professor and Executive Director for the remainder of his career, retiring in 1995. Retirement certainly wasn’t any less energetic, with Michael providing his energy and enthusiasm to numerous local volunteer groups and his golf. In particular, his love of history led him to join the Mornington Historical Society, with which he authored a book Our Boys on the Front, looking at the Great War through local eyes. (A copy of this has been provided to The Perse for its collection). Over the years, Michael developed a deep love of Australia, and was fascinated by its fauna and flora. One of Michael’s many interests was
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