Jim was born in 1933 in a small mining town in Durham but grew up in Kent. He joined 589 squad Royal Marines at Deal in 1951 and was awarded the King’s Badge. As a signalman he served with 40 Commando RM and on HMS Salerno for the Suez conflict.
On leaving the Corps in 1957 he joined the Metropolitan Police and served for 29 years during which time he received a number of commendations. Jim was a specialist instructor and travelled far outside the UK in that capacity, a duty he thoroughly enjoyed. A keen sportsman he represented the Metropolitan Police at Judo and some field events.
In 1990 Jim received the Freedom of the City of London and is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Carmen.
On leaving the Police he and his wife Joy became the licensees of their local 16th century pub in the village of Chelsfield where they enjoyed a delightful 20 years.
Jim joined the newly formed City of London Branch of the Royal Marines Association in 1984, became the chairman in 1988 and took responsibility of promoting the Royal Marines Annual Memorial (Graspan) Parade until 2013. In 2002, in recognition of his services to the RMA he was awarded the MBE.
Upon his retirement as our Branch Chairman after 31 years in 2019, the committee were rightly to award Jim the ‘Chairman Emeritus’ title, an honour he will always keep.
