Farewell to our Mike, an Examiner man for 44 years
Long-serving Examiner journalist Mike Shaw has died aged 87. Here is the obituary that Mike, a writer till the end, penned himself
MICHAEL Morton Shaw was a Linthwaite. He was 87-years-old. Kali Mountford. As a young man full-time reporter and feature During his time at The Examiner, he played cricket for Marsden writer for The Examiner for 44 he covered local cricket and was from the age of 17 and football for years. He combined this in his deputy to Alan Driscoll as Huddersfield Slaithwaite United. Mike was one early career as editor of the former Town writer. He also covered of the first Patrons of Huddersfield Colne Valley Guardian. He also figured speedway at Odsal and wrote Town, a sponsor of Broad Oak notably in the local community. features on Yorkshire dialect and a Cricket Club and a member of series about his life in the Colne Broad Oak Bowling Club in Linthwaite.
Educated at West Slaithwaite Valley.
C of E School and Royds Hall Mike was a man with strong During National Service in the Grammar School, he trained as a opinions, especially where he RAF as a clerk at the RAF Technical reporter on the Colne Valley believed an injustice had been College in Bedfordshire, he played Guardian, to which he returned in done. He was keenly interested in cricket as a left-handed opening the 1960s as editor, until its closure. politics and was a life member of batsman and saw action at Minor the National Union of Journalists, Counties level.
He was brought up on the outskirts which he served at office, town He was vice chairman for many of Marsden, near the boundary and regional level. For seven years years of the former Colne Valley with Slaithwaite, but after his after retiring, he was Press Secretary Society and in 2008 was presented marriage in 1958 had lived in for Colne Valley Labour MP with an award for service to the environment. He was a supporter of several charities, especially those which boosted needy children and in particular Barnardos, which he backed for more than 50 years. He attended Linthwaite Methodist Church.
Mike loved reading, both books and newspapers, and was dedicated to writing. After retiring in 1993 he contributed to magazines and was an habitual writer of articles and letters to The Examiner. He had a strong preference for handwritten communications over social media. He shunned the use of modern technology in his later years and remained a pen and paper man.
He was the author of a dialect booklet, Bill O’ Ben’s, and wrote the script for three of the four videos produced by the Colne Valley Society about the history of the valley’s villages.
Mike married in 1958, Shirley Horncastle, amateur stage performer and fellow Marsdener, who died in February, 2018. He is survived by son Stephen, daughter Julie, grand-daughters Natalie and Jessica, and great-grandson Lucas.