Page 168 - RAPTC Mind, Body & Spirit

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Mike was born in Liverpool in 1929. His physical education teacher soon realised there was a natural talent in
his gymnastics, which were self-taught.
One evening in 1943, when he arrived at his Y.M.C.A. gymnastics club, his instructor, Charles Lord, a former member of the British Olympic team, was accompanied by one of his protégés, a wartime soldier wearing rough Khaki shirt and trousers with a pair of PT shoes in his hand. He ignored the coir mats as he circled the pitted wooden floor in a series of, apparently, effortless back flips, finishing with a twisting back somersault.
At the end of his training session, Mike noticed his crossed swords and the words “Army Physical Training Corps” on his uniform. Spellbound with the soldier’s teaching, coaching and exhibition. From that moment on his driving ambition was to join that particular Army Corps.
Mike was presently working in a solicitor’s office. Along with one other teenager, he had been selected to represent the North West of England in a Physical Fitness Festival at Wembley Stadium, to celebrate the end of World War II.
MAA Oscar Heidenstan and a sector of the APTC were doing log exercises, and during the arena rehearsals, Mike talked with them asking lots of questions, and listening to their advice. This endorsed his ambition.
The end of the war brought a new entry policy for the APTC that determined the quality of the candidates would be more important than the establishment numbers. The elimination process was continuous without compromise, meeting high standards of ability, discipline and conduct. Advanced and Probation courses terminated with cross swords presented by Montgomery. Twenty one started but only five were accepted.
His 1952 Royal Tournament was followed by Mike volunteering for the Korean War. The Empire Trooper rolled through mountainous seas and on to the Suez Canal and Red Sea. Finally, the vessel docked at rain lashed Pusan.
The units were entrenched across the Imjin River. As Mike was the unarmed combat instructor, he was ordered to set up snatch parties to bring in prisoners of war for interrogation. There had formerly been zealous efforts, but they had resulted in grenade accidents, a killing, stabbings and a hasty retreat minus their quarry. He devised an effective system with thoroughly rehearsed close combat teams of four. They all had prior training, and their successes were praised by the Commonwealth Brigade who forwarded their appreciation. Mike always said that in those days he taught technical tricks, but now he needed to learn judo skills!
After Korea he was posted to Japan in 1954, where the Australians had taken over the hospital in Kure to rehabilitate the wounded and return them to the front line.
A first posting to Singapore as SI in 1956, at the FARELF School of Physical Training, Tanglin, afforded him more time to study judo. He was privileged to meet and have a long conversation with the great Jesse Owen, then touring the Far East as a post-war Sport Ambassador. Mike asked how he had felt at the blatantly insulting racial display by Hitler, as a black American victoriously breasted the tape. Jesse smiled and said, “It never happened. He wasn’t
even in the stadium that day!” The victorious WW2 Allies themselves made propaganda of the film that was edited to merge a Jesse Owen world record with Hitler storming out of the stadium.
Then to BAOR, and Mike continued his judo training. He started Army clubs whilst he practised with the more combative German organisations. He wrote a paper to recommend that judo should become an official army sport. The late Captain Harvey supported it along with Ray Mitchell and Harry Welsh. After much lobbying, they gained approval.
Mike was well versed in committee work and procedure. He was erudite with good lateral thinking, and he insisted that Army judo must be affiliated to the British Judo Association because they would then be recognised by the Olympic Committee.
On his return to the Army School of Physical Training, Aldershot in 1960, he was CSMI judo specialist, well able to negotiate with tact, as well as to obfuscate more senior ranks who were unable to facilitate, or fully recognise, what the Army needed for judo. He found himself in the ignominious position of being accountable each day to an officer who had been on his course for entrance to the APTC, but he failed and was RTB. After joining another regiment, he had applied for a commission that was granted, and then he was transferred to the ASPT. However, the first Army Judo Championships were held at Oswestry in 1962.
Meanwhile, he still enjoyed his gymnastics and was a member of the High Horse Team at each Festival of Remembrance, and he would lead the commando close combat displays.
Mike was invited to take part in two live television programmes; “Your Life In Their Hands” was a medical series, and the “Fit to Fight” and “Musclemen” films.
During this time, Nik Stuart and Mike would work at trapeze skills over the swimming pool. They also mastered tight rope walking and slack wire work. However, when told he was going to Loughborough Summer School in 1961, he soon realised how outstanding the APTC men were, compared with the civilian world of physical education. Their extreme fitness allied to their expertise displayed in so many different sporting arenas. This was new territory, but the academic link was absent. Again, Mike the maverick, drew the attention of this to the “hierarchy” who were still “appointed” to the APTC, and had not gone through their ranks. He constantly pioneered for teaching qualifications. It took many years to fill that gap.
A second posting to Singapore in 1963, as QMSI had been arranged for Mike to study at Kodokan in Tokyo, for a higher Dan grade. He was fortunate to share a Japanese house with Don Draegar, a former American marine and world expert on the fighting arts. He introduced Mike to his contacts and took him to the police academy to watch their training and the art of tying. He visited a sword master, who demonstrated the Kata of the Samurai and its link with brush calligraphy – of how the sword equates with the movement and use of the brush.
During this tour he gained a private pilots’ licence, and it was breath-taking to fly over Malaysia and return to the runway whilst waiting in the circling stack with a jumbo above the Cessna, and one below.
OBITUARY – MIKE SHEEDY