RIP - Michael R Muir (ORC, 55-63)

Michael Robert Muir: Orchard, 1955 - 1963

Born 28th April 1945 -  Died 19th July 2023

Mike Robert Muir was born in April 1945, only son to Robert and Jessie and brother to Molly.  The family lived in Llanfrynach.  Mike’s grandfather hailed from Scotland having come to this area as a shepherd and later worked as a MAFF inspector.

Robert was badly injured in WW2 and died when Mike was 14.  Mike, then a pupil in Christ College received great support from the teachers and staff.  He was a sportsman more than an academic, playing lots of rugby, gaining his Christ College colours and part of the first fifteen team in 1963.  Mike was captain of golf in his last year in school and worked hard to arrange many of their fixtures.  Mike was delighted recently when Christ College presented him with his rugby cap and he proudly displayed his original rugby shirt.  Mike held a Debenture in the Principality Stadium.

Mike had his sights set on joining the Metropolitan Police but was too young on leaving school and worked for a year in a small Llanfrynach based brick factory belonging to his uncle Jackie Walters. On turning 18 he joined the Met.

Mike and Beverley, a Londoner, met through a mutual friend from Ammanford and they married in Hackney in 1970.

When it came to policing Mike’s love was policing in uniform, walking the beat, and dealing with all of the day-to-day policing challenges and issues in late 60s, 70s and 80s London.  Stationed in Tottenham Court Road to begin with and learning the ropes through patrolling with older policemen, he was affectionately known as Taff.  He was ambitious and soon gained his Sergeant’s badge and moved to Geralds Road station.  Subsequently he was promoted to Inspector and moved to Wimbledon.  This posting had an added benefit, Mike and Beverley could sit on the sidelines during the Wimbledon Tennis finals.

Moving up the ranks again to Chief Inspector, Mike was to lead the TSG, the Territorial Support Group.  During the 1980s Mike was involved in a number of high-profile cases including the search for Lord Lucan. 

He was in the thick of it during the Iranian Embassy hostage crisis and siege in May 1980.  6 Iranian Arabs stormed the embassy taking 26 hostages in their quest for sovereignty for Khuzestan Province.  Police negotiations secured the release of 5 hostages followed by and SAS operation to storm the embassy and free the remaining hostages.

The murder of Yvonne Fletcher, a Metropolitan Police officer, occurred in April 1984, when she was fatally wounded by a shot fired from the Libyan embassy in London, by an unknown gunman. An eleven-day siege of the embassy followed.  Mike was heavily involved in what was a tense diplomatic situation which was ultimately resolved successfully.

The Battle of Orgreave in South Yorkshire was a violent confrontation in June 1984 between striking miners and officers of the South Yorkshire Police (SYP) and other police forces.  Mike, with fellow Met Police officers, was in the front line. It was a pivotal event in the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, and one of the most violent clashes in British industrial history.

On a lighter note Mike was one of only 4 police officers in charge of the Notting Hill carnival for a number of years.  He also enjoyed some close working with the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and other royals.

Mike loved his policing and it was a big decision to retire from the Met in 1997.  He then took on security related work, initially for the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Association, followed by working for the King of Jordan.  He maintained a strong interest in policing and was delighted when young people joined the force and spent many hours in discussion with Amy Lewis about her new career in the West Midlands force. 

In 2005 Mike and Bev returned to Brecon to live in Pendre to the bungalow where Mike’s mother had lived.  Mike had a full and active retirement.  He absolutely loved his dogs (Tara, Tia, Misty and Berty) and was heartbroken when Bonnie died.  Both Mike and Bev were keen supporters of the Many Tears Animal Rescue charity and  all of their dogs came from the charity.  Mike walked miles with the dogs every day.  He also played golf at both the Cradoc and Brecon courses and was a keen cyclist.  On one occasion his unlocked bike was stolen from outside a Brecon pub.  Much to Bev’s amusement the retired policeman was too trusting of his fellow man thinking Brecon was relatively crime free.  He had a good sense of humour which Trevor played on when under the cover of darkness he planted a rusty old bike on Mike’s lawn.  We think Mike saw the funny side.

Mike was a social being and loved his get-togethers – Christ College Old boys reunions, London Met reunions, the Usk & Wye Discussion Group and Aberhonddu Freemasons.  He enjoyed trips to Kerry and to Galway in Ireland to enjoy the horseracing, rallying and the craic, travelling with Brecon friends and also Herefordshire friends, and forming lasting friendships with John Collins and his friends.

Mike had many friends, some of his oldest friends, John Judd and Julian Todd, are overseas and could not be here today.  He was a true friend and not there just for the good times and was a tremendous support to Peter James when he was going through the worst of times. On a lighter note, on one occasion Mike and Peter were sharing a room in Brixham on a walking holiday; the bathroom was a very confined space and Peter managed to burn his derriere on the radiator.  Mike was never one to miss an opportunity and managed to negotiate a 50% discount on the hotel bill.

I got to know Mike in the past 10 years through Usk and Wye.  I found him a true gent, very interesting, and easy company and a pleasure to be with.

It would be fitting to sum up Mike as a man who lived respected and died regretted.

Thanks to David Morris - good friend and member of Usk & Wye Discussion Group