Neville A.P. Grice (49-53) died on April 4, 2020 aged 84, after contracting the Covid-19 virus. He left a widow, Sylvia, a daughter, a son and four grandchildren. 

On leaving Harbinger Division and the Nautical College in 1953, Grice went into “Civil Life” before joining the Merchant Navy and going to sea as a Radio Officer with Marconi. Every ocean-going ship of the era had, by UK maritime law, to carry at least one fully qualified Radio Officer who would either be working for one of the marine radio companies, such as Marconi Marine, or directly for individual shipping companies. They were placed on every type of vessel from oil tankers to bulk carriers and passenger liners and operated worldwide. Grice mostly sailed on Caltex tankers as well as the occasional passenger liner, and twice survived nearly being blown up in tense situations off Egypt and Cuba.

In the early 1960s he left the sea and joined Lunn/Poly Travel, originally working on the counter in Edgware Road in London, before becoming a Relief Manager for the company and travelling to different parts of England. In time, he managed several Lunn/Poly offices such as those at Lewisham and Croydon. In 1965 he married Sylvia and soon after joined Blue Sky Holidays – a new tour operation for British Caledonian Airways, based at East Grinstead – as Reservations Manager and remained in this job for several years.  

Sylvia Grice adds: “By then we had a daughter and son and decided to move to Bexhill when Neville joined Exchange Travel in Hastings as Reservation Manager with an additional role involving hotel contracting in Malta, Gibraltar and Cyprus until that operation was closed.  As we didn’t want to move our children from their school, he then took on a different type of travel management and became General Manager of Waterhouse Tours, Eastbourne. This was a coach business offering private hire, holidays in the UK and Europe, theatre visits to London, French day trips and local excursions during the summer. 

During these years he was a long-serving member of Skal, the worldwide travel club, and was President of the Brighton branch in 1990 also acting as Social Secretary for over 25 years. In retirement he enjoyed gardening and his four grandchildren and walking his dog every day. We were married for 54 years until, aged 84, he was killed within seven days at the start of April by the dreaded virus.”