Paul and I had been good friends since May 1951 at Pocklington School and, despite both of us living in quite different locations throughout our lives, we remained in touch and visited each other in our numerous homes. As a young schoolboy, he was irrepressible. His social skills, talkative nature, and intelligence enabled him to succeed in many spheres.

He was the lead treble in the school choir, a diver in the swimming team, an enthusiastic member of the CCF, always involved in school plays, and rang the bells in Pocklington Church.

Paul’s commitment to the school continued long after he left not only through his philanthropic support of building projects and bursaries, but also through his involvement with the Old Pocklingtonian Association. For several years, Paul made the arrangements for the OP London dinner when it was held at The Farmers’ Club during the late ‘90s. In more recent times, he was a regular at the biennial Dinosaur Club Luncheon in Wetherby, and in May 2014 attended the Quincentenary celebration events held in York to mark the School’s 500th anniversary.

Paul’s career path began during his time in the Sixth Form, when he was offered the opportunity to join Smiths Gore Land Agents in York as an articled clerk. He became a fully qualified Land Agent in 1963.

In 1963, he married Marion (née Matthews), the sister of Barry (51-59) and Malcolm (55-59) who are OPs. They lived in a flat in York before moving to Sand Hutton. Paul worked voluntarily as a special constable and also joined the OP Freemasons Lodge.

In December 1964, their first child, Kathryn, my Goddaughter, was born followed by Christopher in 1967, and Jonathon in 1969.

By the mid-sixties, Paul had worked well at Smiths Gore, who decided to give him the role of Resident Land Agent at Wykeham Abbey Estate, the ancestral home of Lord and Lady Downe. Initially, they lived in Ruston but moved to an Estate house in Wykeham after Lord Downe had persuaded Paul to leave Smiths Gore and work for him directly. During this period, Paul and Marion cemented strong lifelong friendships with Peter Milner (55-57), Peter Nettleton (49-58), and Martin Johnston and their wives.

In 1978, Smiths Gore headhunted Paul to move to Blenheim Palace to be the Resident Land Agent for the Duke of Marlborough where he lived in an enormous Estate house called China Corner.

Lord Downe was very supportive and kept Paul on a consultancy retainer for the rest of his life.

By the mid-eighties, Paul moved to work in Smiths Gore’s offices in Peterborough by which time he was a Partner. They lived in Polebrook, near Oundle, in Garden Cottage, their last house move. He was very involved with Church property and had a good relationship with the Bishop of Peterborough. Also, he was a Church Warden and Lay Reader.

He was awarded an OBE for services to East Anglia as well as being President of the Land Agents Section of RICS.

A lot of fun time was spent in France where the family acquired a cottage in the Loire Valley. Northampton Saints also benefitted from his support as a season ticket holder. As he gradually withdrew from Smiths Gore he took on significant charity work. The extent of his impact on peoples’ lives was manifest when more than 200 attended his funeral in Polebrook.

Will Wilson (51-58) and John Nettleton (78-89)