Remembering Michael Harvey

Michael George Harvey ( Staff. 59-93)

The Malvernian community was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Michael Harvey, who passed away peacefully at his home in France on Thursday 9th July. The following tribute is taken from the eulogy at Michael’s funeral on Friday 17 July. 

We are gathered here today in sadness but also in gratitude to remember the remarkable and full life of Michael. In one sense a life can be measured in the litany of achievements that marked the passing of the years. So with Michael we could focus on his scholarly achievements at Oxford, his gift for languages, his teaching career, his pastoral role as a Public School housemaster, his civic achievements in local government not least as Mayor of Malvern, his national advisory role for libraries and his distinguished contribution to the diocese of Worcester. He also sustained a deeply happy and fulfilling marriage, and together with Suse, raised two remarkable daughters and was an inspiring and loving grandfather and great grandfather. Together with Suse he followed his teaching career with a new life in France where he became absorbed in the natural world on his doorstep, the eclectic but heart-warming world of French village life and of course a delight in the churches of the Aude region leading to a beautiful and very personal interpretation in Tresors Oublies. Old friends were treasured visitors and new local friends, both English and French, were touched by the magic of warm hospitality and stimulating company.
However, the essence of a life is more difficult to describe. What was it that attracted his countless friends at all stages of his long life? Well, he was frequently hilarious. He had a fine sense of the absurdity of life not least the risible pretentions of petty minds and pompous social rituals. He could recount a multitude of glorious anecdotes – his description of the hearty organisation of a German swimming pool, or the ridiculous if well-meaning leadership training course at Symonds Yat for a group of men who had seen active military service and more recently turning the purchase of new belt into a clownish performance. His humour was never unkind and he could weave self-deprecation into most tales. He was the best of company never happier than when opening a bottle to be shared with dear friends. The conversation would flow effortlessly interspersing profound but lightly carried learning, astute observations and gales of laughter.
There was of course much more to this engaging personality. I think what lay at the heart of the extraordinary friendships Michael formed was the sense that what he had to say was always so profoundly true. Steeped in the great literary traditions of England, France and Germany he added to his own experiences the range of perception and understanding of human nature to be found in great literature. He also had the broad humanistic hinterland of a great civilisation as well as a deep Christian faith. When conversation was serious his contribution had weight and authority. Pupils in the classroom, young men in his boarding house, colleagues and countless friends in all walks of life listened and found truth in what he had to say. So many of his former pupils have recorded that their contact with Michael was transformative saying that their lives were changed and enhanced by this precious gift.
One of Michael’s last ventures at Malvern was to imagine, inspire and organise Art in Worship. This was a remarkable project which brought together so many of his interests and his missionary desire to bring modern artists back in to the life of the church recalling how over the centuries it was painters and sculptors that made religion comprehensible and allowed the human and the Divine to speak with each other. Staged in Tewkesbury Abbey and then Worcester Cathedral and opened by Maggi Hambling and Sister Wendy Beckett it was a moving and exciting exhibition in which some of the most renowned British artists, who in their blend of devotion, agnosticism and questioning represented the contemporary quest for understanding. In some ways this venture points to the essence of the man – a belief in the centrality of the religious experience, the openness to critical and challenging thought as a pathway to more certain truths and the invitation to join in a shared pilgrimage.
It was also the remarkable partnership that Michael shared with Suse that enabled his great gifts to flourish. Intelligent, cultured and curious they loved and enjoyed the same things but always gave space to the other for independent thought or new discoveries. Their conversation was challenging, exploratory and complementary. An evening spent in their company was a gift beyond price not least in seeing how Michael could still reduce Suse to tears of laughter so typical of the freshness they both still found in their long marriage.
Saying farewell to a beloved friend is one of the hardships of life. It is a time for reflection and sadness but also of appreciation for the way we have been touched, enlivened, entertained and nurtured. Sadness never completely leaves us but with the passage of time the happy memories and the joy of a companionship that somehow seems to continue provide comfort and hope. In the words of Shakespeare in old age a man should be accompanied by the gifts of ‘honour, love, and, troops of friends.’ How fitting it is to record that Michael was accompanied by all these precious things right to the end of his well lived life.

Roy Allen
Malvern July 2026. Roy has been a close family friend since 1975.