Michael Singleton

George Michael Singleton CBE MC TD
Born	(1913-05-12)12 May 1913 Repton, Derbyshire, England
Died	11 December 2002(2002-12-11) (aged 89) Malvern, Worcestershire, England
Occupations	Schoolmaster, soldier, cricketer
Known for	Headmaster of The Elms School (1946–1973); first High Sheriff of Hereford and Worcester
Spouse	Diana Philpot (m. 1939)
Children	5
Relatives	Sandy Singleton (brother)

George Michael Singleton, CBE, MC, TD (12 May 1913 – 11 December 2002) was an English schoolmaster, soldier and first-class cricketer. The son of a headmaster of The Elms School at Colwall, near Malvern, he succeeded his father in the post and ran the school from 1946 until 1973. A Military Cross-winning infantry officer in the Second World War and widely known as Colonel Michael Singleton, he became in 1974 the first High Sheriff of Hereford and Worcester.

Early life and education

Singleton was born at Repton, Derbyshire, on 12 May 1913, the son of a schoolmaster who in 1916 became headmaster of The Elms, a preparatory school at Colwall founded in 1614 in the lee of the Malvern Hills. He was the eldest of four brothers: Sandy Singleton captained Oxford University and Worcestershire at cricket; John farmed in Scotland; and Tim became President of the Law Society and was knighted.

After Uppingham, Singleton won an Exhibition to Pembroke College, Cambridge, and afterwards taught at West Down School near Winchester before joining his father as a master at The Elms.

Cricket

Singleton played a small amount of first-class cricket, appearing once for Cambridge University and twice for Worcestershire. A left-arm spinner, he took five wickets and scored 34 runs in his five innings. He also played for the Free Foresters and I Zingari.

Second World War

On the outbreak of war in 1939 Singleton raised a company of the Hereford Light Infantry. He was seconded to the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and landed in France shortly after the D-Day landings, going on to fight across Belgium and the Netherlands. He was wounded three times and was awarded the Military Cross for his leadership and courage. Impatient with medical attention, he was said more than once to have discharged himself from hospital to rejoin his men.

Headmaster of The Elms

Offered a regular commission in 1946, Singleton instead returned to The Elms and succeeded his father as headmaster, leading the school until 1973. He staffed it largely with former Army friends—"more MCs than MAs", as he put it—and among his teachers was the England cricketer Betty Snowball, who taught mathematics and wicket-keeping.

Singleton ran the school to a robust, rural routine: outdoor physical exercise before breakfast in all weathers, long walks on the Malvern Hills, cold dormitories, hymn-singing, cricket and Latin. Out of the classroom he was more relaxed, allowing older boys to roam the hills unsupervised and permitting pupils to keep owls in the fives court. Known to the boys as "Mr Michael" and, in his absence, as "Boss", he was a habitual pipe-smoker who was said to smoke even while bowling in the cricket nets; his wife, "Mrs Michael", took a warmer part in school life and arranged dances with local girls' schools.

Public life

Singleton was appointed CBE, reportedly at the same investiture at which his brother Tim was knighted. He served as a justice of the peace from 1961 to 1983, latterly as chairman of the Ledbury bench. On the creation of the county of Hereford and Worcester in 1974 he became its first High Sheriff, and he was also a Deputy Lieutenant and a member of the regional police authority.

Personal life

In 1939 Singleton married Diana Philpot, a clergyman's daughter; they had five children, one of whom died in childhood. He died at Malvern on 11 December 2002, aged 89.