Mr (John) Richard Morfill Parker
Class of 1952
John Richard Morfill Parker (Segar’s, 1947-1952)
Born 21 June 1934, died 28th March 2023 aged 89.
The following obituary was kindly provided by Richard’s Godson, Will.
Born in Oxford, Richard identified, throughout his life, with the city, attending the Dragon School and St Edward’s.
For National Service he enlisted in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and was posted to Berlin, guarding Spandau jail’s Nazi war criminals.
Richard went to sea as a Purser with the then mighty P&O Steam Navigation Co, still the ‘lifeline of Empire’, in 1957. He was held in high regard and appointed to the flagship CANBERRA for her maiden voyage. At sea Richard met his wife, Marilyn, a journalist from Edinburgh. He came ashore in 1974 and took a management role in P&O’s head office.
He proudly inherited his mother’s Swiss citizenship and kept an apartment in the beautiful town of Château d’Oex, Canton Vaud. He was an accomplished French linguist and life in Switzerland became a major feature of retirement.
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