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GAZETTE
Obituaries 2012
KENNETH (KEN) MICHEL (1939, Physics) died
on 31 December 2011, aged 92, leaving behind
four children, four grandchildren, and three
great-grandchildren. His wife Vera died in 1979.
Ken was born in 1919 in Bath. He served in the
Royal Navy, working on radar technology.
Ken later became headmaster of Caistor
Grammar School in Lincolnshire. On one
memorable occasion, when the school was
threatened with closure, he led a protest
march to Lincoln. He was known for his skill
in building good staff relations, and many
of his colleagues remained good friends. He
was a champion of the school, modernising it
through decisive leadership.
He was loyal member of Caistor Parish
Church, serving as Treasurer and member of
the Parochial Church Council. In addition, he
gave his talents to the service of his diocese
as voluntary secretary to its committee on
the care of church buildings, acquiring a
considerable knowledge of church buildings
across Lincoln. He knew how to care for them,
and make them useful for the modern age.
As an active member of his local community,
Ken served on the Caistor branch of the
Royal British Legion, organising – even in his
last year – the annual poppy appeal; was
secretary of the Caistor Old People’s Welfare
Committee; and a delivery driver for Meals on
Wheels.
Ken’s son, David, said his father was
especially proud of his work for the diocese,
saying, ‘he really enjoyed it. It took him to
some odd corners of the county, inspecting
churches which needed serious care’.
The Michel Family
KEN HOPKINS (1946, English) was a
Welsh Labour party stalwart, a former local
education authority director, and a former
Chair of the Labour Party in Wales. The
Independent praised his determination in ‘his
decades spent hammering Welsh Nationalism
in all its manifestations’.
He was brought up on a poor estate in Ely,
on the south-west side of Cardiff, the son
of a Congregational minister, and was later
educated at the Boys’ County Grammar
School in Porth. Wartime service was spent
a submariner after which he read English at
Catz. On graduating, he became a teacher
(and later Headmaster) at Ferndale Grammar
School in Rhondaa, before becoming Director
of Education. Twice secretary of the Rhondda
Labour Party, and Chairman of Welsh Labour,
he was one of the architects of the party’s
devolution policy, though a fierce critic of
political nationalism.
Coincidentally, his connection to College
continued through interactions with two of its
Masters. He was a member of the University
of Cardiff’s Appointment Committee which
selected Sir Brian Smith (Master, 1988-93)
as Vice-Chancellor in 1993, and was later a
member of the Plant Commission on Electoral
Reform, headed by Lord Plant (Master, 1994-
2000).
He is survived by his widow, Margaret.
JOHN PERCIVAL MBE
(1948, English)
was one of those
fortunate individuals
who discover at an
early age exactly
what they want to
do in life and go on
to do so. He wished
to be a writer and
after his first visit to
the ballet at the age of 16, he decided he
wanted to write about dance, which he did
with considerable distinction until just a few
weeks before his death from heart failure at
the age of 85.
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