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Michael Smyth Clerk 1969-1980

Michael Smyth writes that he was born on the 20th August 1926 at Coulsdon Surrey. He was educated at Whitgift School, Croydon from 1936 - 1943. During the Second World War in October 1944 he joined the Fleet Air Arm to be trained as a pilot/observer. He trained in the UK and at HMS Goshawk, at Piarco in Trinidad where his course ended in August 1945 as part of the Empire aircrew training scheme. Despite people's envy of having been posted to a tropical paradise his memories of Trinidad are of having a very unpleasant time with large spiders and dozens of cockroaches sharing his large wooden hut! When the war against Japan ended he retrained as a driver when he drove a wide range of vehicles at various Royal Naval Air Stations in the UK. He was finally demobbed in June1947.

By 1952 he was qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He started work as a sole practitioner and then after various mergers he became a partner in a fairly large City Firm (Morrish Walters). One of the senior partners was AT Read who at the time was Clerk to the Bowyers' Company. When Tony Reed was elected to the Court he felt compelled to relinquish the clerkship and recommended that Michael Smyth be considered as his replacement.

He was appointed Clerk in 1969 and continued until 1980 handing over to Mr J McCagney when the Court awarded him the status of a Liveryman. Subsequently he was formally admitted to the Freedom and Livery of the Company.

Tony Read went on to become Master of the Company.

In 1978 Michael Smyth was appointed Clerk to the Makers of Playing Cards Company until 2002. Following several mergers of his firm of Chartered Accountants he took early retirement in 1987 and carried on the Clerkship from his home ably assisted by his wife Jill who then became the Assistant Clerk.