David and I spent a year in Birmingham, way back in 1970/71, when David was a student at Birmingham University, training to be a teacher of the visually impaired. We joined with the Torch Fellowship Group there and that is where we met Mike.

A group of us travelled from Birmingham to Leicester to celebrate the opening of the second Torch Fellowship group in the country. Mike was sitting behind us on the coach and I overheard the conversation he had with one of the ladies. She admired his guide dog which was sitting quietly at Mike's feet. Then she said, "Do you take him to work with you?" Mike replied courteously, "Actually, she takes me"!

We met Mike many times since then and I appreciated that he and Edith came all the way to Leeds to David's thanksgiving service in 2019. He was also the main speaker at the Torch holiday in Whitby which we arranged some years ago and I was also pleased that he spoke at Cober Hill at the Torch holiday there earlier this year. We had booked him as our speaker for the Leeds Torch 50th birthday celebrations next April but, of course, that is not to be.

Mike, a real Christian gentleman, will be sadly missed by so many. I am grateful for his ministry over the years and for his gentle, humble personality. I rejoice that he is now in glory with the Lord he loved and served so faithfully. My thoughts and prayers are with Edith and family at this sad time. May the Lord be their comfort and strength in all the days to come.

Margaret Judson