IN MEMORIAM

Michael supported the Rowan’s Hospice and the Disasters Emergency Committee. His family have launched a joint appeal page for both charities here and invite you to support in his memory  https://givewheel.com/fundraising/10507/michael-francis-davis-in-memoriam/

DETAILS OF THE FUNERAL ARE POSTED BELOW THE OBITUARY

At the funeral additional parking may be found in Westbourne Avenue PO10 7QU

It may be possible to livestream the Requiem. If you would be interested, please email f.davis@bham.ac.uk

OBITUARY

Michael Davis B.A. (Lond)
4th January 1938 - 7th September 2025

Michael Davis passed away at home on 7th September 2025 with his loving wife, Catherine, at his side.

Born in Preston, sibling to four sisters, he was the only son and youngest child of Tom and Mary Davis. At age 12, he was sent to St Michael’s Thistleton Lodge, a junior seminary then located in the Fylde, near Blackpool.

From Thistleton he moved to St Joseph’s College, Up Holland, still as a junior seminarian.

Deciding against the priesthood in his late teens, he took A Levels at Preston Catholic College before entering the Royal Air Force. Here his schooling in Greek and Latin enabled him to rapidly develop initial expertise in Russian which was put into practice while he was stationed in Berlin. On leaving the Air Force he read Russian at the University of London’s School of East European and Slavonic Studies. While a student he met his future wife, Catherine.

The couple married in October 1965 and set sail for Cape Town.  From there they made the journey to the Northern Province of a newly independent Zambia.  Michael and Catherine taught at Lwitikila Girls’ School, near Mpika in modern Muchinga Province. Developing habits as a conscientious and highly committed educator that lasted for the rest of his professional life, Michael always went out of his way to help his students, giving his own time freely and generously. He managed the project of clearing, levelling and construction of the sports field and running track at the school.

On his return to the UK from Africa, education remained Michael’s professional focus.

At John Mason High School in Abingdon, he taught Russian and organised (1972) a visit for pupils to the Soviet Union, remarkable for the time.

When he moved to RAF Tangmere in 1973 as a civilian lecturer in Russian, he began a renewed relationship with the armed forces that was to last thirty years. He was subsequently Senior Lecturer at the Special Communications Unit of the Navy’s signals school H.M.S Mercury, leading innovations in curricula and pedagogy. During these years, and as global diplomacies shifted, he added Serbo-Croat and Farsi to his armoury of languages and teaching. Working with Professor Vladimir Fisera, at Portsmouth University’s renowned School of Area Studies, he also undertook research into in the form and reach of Russia’s sea power in the Indian Ocean, always reading widely and studying the internal and foreign policies of the Soviet Union

Michael continued teaching Farsi along with Russian to students from all three services when appointed to the Intelligence Corps Headquarters and Defence College at Chicksands in Bedfordshire. For over twenty years, in retirement, he kept up his Persian studies, closely following current affairs from the perspective of the Iranian as well as the Western press.

Working with the military afforded sporting opportunities.  He played for the H.M.S Mercury cricket team. Mercury’s proximity and close links to the founding home of cricket in Hambledon enabled him to bowl and bat for over a decade for the Broadhalfpenny Brigands cricket club.

From 1980 to 82 he was the club’s Secretary. During that period, he also played an important part in enabling ITV and the Brigands to re-enact and broadcast a cricket match (in costume) as it would have been played at the game’s historical outset. The BBC’s John Arlott acted as commentator.

On the sports front Michael ran the Isle of Wight Marathon in 1981 as part of an enduring passion for running, was a keen cyclist and a serious walker from his youth Sections of the South Downs Way were regular favourites, as were other spots nestled in the now South Downs National Park. These included Kingley Vale and a much-loved route ending at Up Marden’s ancient and beautiful village church.

Always appreciative of the education that the church had given him, his was a thoughtful, open-minded Catholicism, albeit with a preference for intellectually stretching preaching and well sung liturgy. He was a lay Eucharistic minister for many years and a volunteer catechist for those converting to Catholicism as adults.  He believed in ecumenism and served on local inter-church bodies.

He delighted in inviting “lost” foreigners and chance acquaintances home for an impromptu meal and, over the years, these included guests from Russia, South Africa, Kenya and Nepal.

He was especially pleased to reconnect with new generations of family in Canada who had forged their lives there after his aunt’s emigration from Britain.

Although he lived in Hampshire for over fifty years, he retained links to his family and friends in Lancashire throughout his life.

Retirement brought more time to travel abroad with China, India, Iran, Australia, Singapore, Greece, USA, Canada, Turkey, South Africa all making their way on to itineraries that were topped up with regular visits to nearby France and Spain. Some of these journeys were undertaken with the Ancient Greece group or recounted to the ‘Travellers Tales’ group of the Ems Valley University of the Third Age (U3A).

A keen member of the U3A’s photography group, he had retained a life-long interest in capturing the world through his camera, having originally learnt the skills of a traditional dark room through evening classes.

As well as his wife, he leaves four children, nine grandchildren, extended family in Britain, North America, Asia and Australasia and a wide array of friends.