Michael
J Carrington was born on Saturday 3rd July 1965. He was raised along
with his older brother Paul by parents Derek and Annie (Close) in Trent
Road, Shaw near Oldham in Greater Manchester.
Having just turned sixteen, young Michael travelled south to Deal where
he met the other members of the large 2/81 Troop of the Royal Marines
Band Service on 7th September 1981. They were the first troop that had
to undertake the extended initial sixteen-week training. Junior Musician
Carrington went on to study the clarinet & viola under the guidance
of instructor William Walton and in 1983, he was awarded the clarinet
class prize.
After
successfully completing training in 1984.. Musician Carrington was drafted
to the Royal Marines Band Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) as a
replacement for the drafted BSgt Neil Evans. His first excursion with
the Band was to Jersey in May 1985 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary
of the islands’ liberation from German forces. Shortly afterwards
and the band was off again.. this time for a trip to a bitterly cold
Sweden.
It wasn’t long before Mick found love with Dartmouth girl Vanessa
Prettyjohns. She didn’t just live near the College.. but literally
over the fence in Sandquay Road, just behind Beatty galley. Life got
a bit more difficult due to security reasons… the Floaters gate
was closed forever and a disgruntled Mick had to drive around!
In addition to all the music and security duties surrounding life at
the College.. He fully embraced the sporting facilities on offer.. Mick
found time fully committing to the Britannia Snooker Team that played
in the Totnes & District League. He had a massive passion for Tennis
and entered many of the local events around the town including the annual
regatta competitions. He was also a very good cricketer, footballer
and keen golfer.. he revelled in the glory of once having a hole in
one on the seventh hole of the College course.. he wouldn’t let
it drop for weeks! Mick was a winner and absolutely hated even coming
second at anything.
Mick was drafted to the Band of HM Royal Marines Commandos (CTC) at
Lympstone in 1987 and shortly afterwards he featured with the massed
bands in the 1987 Royal Tournament. While he was at CTC.. Mick commuted
daily the ninety-miles round trip from his home in Dartmouth.
Mick proposed to Vanessa and they married on 15th August 1987 in the
College Chapel at BRNC. They decided to purchase their own property
in Ford Valley, Dartmouth, before upgrading to a new home at Redwalls
Meadow.. directly opposite the college.
Mick began the climb up the promotion ladder in 1990 when he was selected
to attend the Junior Command Course at CTC. Following his promotion,
BCpl Carrington was drafted to the Portsmouth Band which included a
spell on the Royal Yacht before moving to the Royal Marines School of
Music as Instructor. In 1993 Mick and Vanessa took the bold step into
parenting when they adopted twin baby boys Jordan & Elliott, before
they returned to Dartmouth in 1994. He travelled with BRNC Band to Malta
the following year for the Victory in Europe celebrations, then to Cyprus
for VJ parades. In August 1996 the band benefited with a trip to Portland
Oregon USA for the commemoration ceremony for the Chosin Few. While
at Dartmouth, Mick was promoted to BSgt and in 1997 he was awarded his
Long Service & Good Conduct medal.
Mick’s
time at Dartmouth finally came to an end in 1998 when he was appointed
as Volunteer Band Instructor (VBI) at HMS Nelson, Portsmouth.
Following his spell as VBI.. BCSgt Carrington returned to the Royal
Marines School of Music in Portsmouth for the second time as the Viola
Instructor. He remained at the school until 2006, when his time in the
Royal Marines Band Service came to an end after completing twenty-five
years of distinguished service. He was a highly regarded instructor
within Training Company, a fantastic mentor and guiding light to all
those trainees under his charge at RMSM.
In
civilian life Mr Carrington continued with his love of music when he
became a music teacher in schools located around Hampshire and Surrey.
In March 2013 Mick took time out to return to BRNC for a reunion and
to play at the BRNC All Stars Band concert, which was formed to help
commemorate 150 years of Royal Naval Officer training at Dartmouth.
It was a proud moment in August 2018 for both Mick and Vanessa when
their son Jordan passed out of Britannia Royal Naval College as a Midshipman.
The
family was devastated when Mick was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and
following a lengthy battle of over two years, he sadly passed away at
home with his family by his bedside on the morning of 23rd October 2019
aged just 54. His funeral service was held on 6th November at Portchester
Crematorium and a celebration of his life afterwards was held at Portsmouth
Rugby Club. Donations in Mick’s memory were gratefully received
by Rowan's Hospice.
RIP
Mick
