Michael Ernest Winter (55-59) died peacefully on 9 th March 2024 following a long illness.
He was 82 and left a wife Rosie, two children and five grandchildren. A Thanksgiving
Service was held at St Luke’s Haslar on 29th March 2024.

Mike came from a South Coast family and from a young age wanted to join the Royal Navy.
Unfortunately, his father died when he was eight years old and a pupil at Portsmouth
Grammar School, putting his future in doubt. Sponsored by the Freemasons, however, he
arrived at the Nautical College in Lent Term 1955 when he was almost 14 years old. At the
NCP he rose to become a Cadet Captain in Harbinger Division, a member of Form VI
Science, one of the 1958 Sailing team, and a speedy wing three-quarter playing in the rugby
1st XVs of 1957 and 1958.

From Pangbourne he entered BRNC Dartmouth in September 1959 and decided to specialise
as a Weapons Engineer in the submarine branch. Reaching the rank of Commander (E), along
the way he gained a Master of Science degree while attending the Royal Naval College at
Greenwich and became a Chartered Engineer and member of the Institution of Electrical
Engineers.

For many years Mike was involved with the Polaris system, including two years spent at sea
as a Polaris Systems Officer in HMS Repulse. Among his postings, he was based for more
than five years at the submarine base at Faslane in Scotland, two years at Arlington, Virginia
1979-81 working with the US Navy, and a year at Rosyth with HM Dockyard working on the
re-fit of HMS Renown. He also did a six-month spell in the Falklands in the early 1990s as
well as tours with the Ministry of Defence Procurement Executive, with the MoD in Bath and
with HMS Centurion in Gosport where he was a Drafting Officer.

On retiring from the RN in 1994, Mike worked for the Security Service in London for a time.
Throughout his life he remained grateful to the Freemasons for the help they had given him to
attend the NCP and belonged to a Lodge. For ten years he was Secretary of his local branch
of SSAFA. A keen trout fisherman, he was the Hon. Secretary of the Portsmouth Services Fly
Fishing Association for some years. His other interests included bird watching and he was
also a longtime supporter of the RN Submarine Museum in Gosport.