Michael Booth obituary

My stepfather, Michael Booth, who has died aged 87, was called up for national service in the Royal Navy in 1952 and enjoyed it so much that he took on a permanent commission, spending most of the rest of his working life as a navy officer.

Michael was born in Guildford, Surrey, to Frank Booth, an engineer, and his wife, Mary (nee Gelstharp), a silversmith. In 1940 he and his younger brother, Richard, were evacuated to the US on board the Cunard liner Scythia. On returning to the UK five years later he went to Guildford grammar school.