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| 1 Dec 2025 | |
| Written by Jasmine Le-Grys | |
| Obituaries |
We are very sorry to notify you of the passing of Michael who was at the School from 1958 until 1968.
Michael passed away on 11th November, aged 75 years.
We are conscious that some people who knew Michael during his time at the School may not be in contact with us and we would be very grateful if you could pass on this information to those that you know.
As is usual practice, we would like to place an obituary for Michael in the 2025-26 OI Journal. If you know of any stories or memories which you can pass on to us so we can put them together for the publication we would be most grateful. Please address any contributions to me through oldipswichians@ipswich.school
Sally Webber
OI Chair
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Mick (although in those days we all called each other by our surnames or occasionally nicknames, of which Mick had a couple) was the middle of three brothers at the School. I was in the same form as Mick from prep school through to leaving in 1968 when we both went on to do civil engineering in different London colleges. He was a larger-than-life character in both senses, certainly being the biggest boy in the class. He was clever, being one of those selected for the first accelerated stream, but was not particularly sporty except for swimming, especially the plunge when his launch momentum was sufficient to easily get him to the end of the 25 m swimming pool without breathing. He was a very competent sailor and I remember going out on his family sailing cruiser with him as skipper. His father obviously had considerable confidence in his ability to let a teenager take a crew of other teenagers far out to sea (assuming that he had permission, Mick was not one for rules.) During one holiday before he left school, Mick travelled on a merchant ship to North Africa for the experience and, from what we heard, he certainly gained some experience in the souks. We had a few nights out in London as students and I saw him again nearly twenty years later when he dropped by but, unfortunately, that was the last time. Mick remains, however, one of the most memorable characters from my school life.
David Walker (OI 1959-1968)
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