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Richard came to Lancing as a scholar from Twyford Preparatory School, Winchester. His first year was spent in Ludlow (Shropshire) as the College had moved there temporarily during WW II.
Early on, Richard decided on a career in the Royal Navy, as his father before him. In 1948 he was selected as a cadet for the recently formed Electrical Branch of the RN (an initiative of Lord Mountbatten’s), via Cambridge University. The entry included a year’s cadet training at RN College Dartmouth (HMS Britannia), followed by a three-year Electrical Engineering degree course at Magdalene College Cambridge. Two years of specialist equipment training followed at sea and on land, before joining the Fleet. Richard chose a career in the submarine.
‘Dick’, as he was known to his naval colleagues, served on several boats including HMS Thermopylae and HMS Rorqual. He also spent two and half years as Electrical Engineer Officer on the staff of the 4th Submarine Division with the Royal Australian Navy (HMS Balmoral, Sydney).
Richard left the Navy after 22 years, taking on a role at IBM as senior instructor at its Customer Executive Education Centre in Winchester. One aspect of this job was to recruit guest speakers from Harvard Business School and 1983 he was appointed to IBM’s European HQ in Paris, responsible for customer and personnel training. He retired from IBM in 1991.
In retirement, Richard continued to support the Lancing Chapel Porch Completion, he was President of the British Legion in his Hampshire village, an enthusiastic fly fisherman and keen gardener. Richard enjoyed the company of his children, grandchildren and great grandson. Richard died on 27 March 2022, aged 90.