Page 172 - Mind, Body & Spirit Number 104 2020/21

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University. Don was forward thinking for the time and got himself and his staff (mostly civilian) as high up the British Association of Ski Instructors (BASI) and Mountain Leader (ML) Scheme qualifications as he could. He was however disappointed that the Corps placed little importance on AT and personal development at this time and that not once did anyone from the APTC hierarchy visit his location. One opportunity not to be missed was for Don and Bill Bell to attend the French Army Ecole de Haute Montagne on a long mountain ski course – perhaps one of the first to do so. Don had a good relationship with the AT National Governing Bodies of the time (especially through Glenmore Lodge) and was authorised to run Ski Party Leaders (SPL) courses and was one of the first in setting up Mountain Leader Summer (MLC) courses. Whilst in Scotland and living in Grantown on Spey he was highly regarded by the local community and was asked to Captain the local Aviemore Team on the ‘It’s a Knockout’ TV Show.
Don was a talented all-round sports man, but he was particularly a good 200metre sprinter, boxer, springboard diver and skier. He competed in the 1960 Royal Tournament APTC High Horse display and held his own as a Gymnast in the era of APTC British and Olympic gymnasts such as Jack Pancott, Mickey Munn, Jimmy Wilson, Bert Dooley and of course Nick Stewart. Don made many APTC friends during his career; George Gelder, Johnny Baker, Ralf Wills, Pete Bartlett, Robin Milburn, Ron Riley, Bill Robson, Tom Parker to mention but a few, all who made his life richer with their help and comradeship.
Whilst Don served in the Army, he and his wife Margret (nee Newbrook), also a Stafford lass, had three children – Nicholas, Steven and Claire. The eldest son, Nicholas went on to follow in his father’s footsteps joining the Parachute Regiment 1971 and transferring to the Army Physical Training Corps in 1978 retiring as
a Lt Colonel (SMAA) in 2010. His younger son Steven went on to be a High Access Rigging Trainer/Assessor having worked in all weathers on some of the highest structures in the UK and around the world. Claire currently works in Cambodia as an English teacher.
Don then met Ruth an Australian born ski Instructor whilst working in Scotland and they started a new life together, subsequently leaving the UK for sunny Australia in1974.
Life in Australia proved to have its rewarding challenges – running a Hotel in Merrijig near Mount Buller in the Blue Mountains, working as an Outward-Bound Instructor at Mansfield Advanced Teacher Training College and then running a Farm Station in the Outback for troubled teenagers. During this time, they had their beautiful daughter Naomi. Eventually, as life needed to be taken a bit easier, Ruth and Don managed a small shop in Bendigo north of Melbourne and filled their spare time playing Golf and Bowls. Don and Ruth were immensely proud of their Victorian houses on Reginald Street and Don spent many hours renovating and maintaining them in tip top condition. They even had one entire house lifted and moved forward several feet to get it in line with the other houses in the row (how military). Don was so proud of his new and adopted country that he eventually decided to become an Australian Citizen. Don died in hospital from a leg infection aged 89; his ashes are buried under a tree in the gardens of The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Bendigo, Australia.
Don front row centre – PT School North York 1969/70