Michael was born in Cheltenham on 5th June 1945 on his paternal
grandmother's birthday and was part of the 'baby boom' which followed
the cessation of World War Two. His father Edward Leslie Prance
Williams served in the Royal Navy having been brought up in Aberdare,
South Wales where the family was highly regarded and fairly well off
owning the first car in the town! His father later became manager of
Hodges the men's outfitters in Torquay.
When it was realised that Mike was not destined for an outstanding
academic career he was moved from Westhill Primary School into the
private sector first at Ellesmere and then to Chelston College where he
had the opportunity to develop his gift and interest in all sporting
activities, soccer in the winter and cricket, sailing and tennis in the
Summer. He became member of all the relevant local clubs. After
achieving all the required examinations at the age of 17 he entered
Lloyds Bank at the Torre in Torquay. With a particular aptitude for
maths, and having gained immense retail experience working for his
father in the school holidays, he quickly found that he had embarked on
the ideal career for himself. At age 21 he was moved to the Truro
branch of the bank where he stayed for seven years returning to Torquay
at the week ends to continue with his sporting and courting activities
and in March 1968 married Lesley Holden . Their two children Melissa
and Timothy were born in Truro. Later on he was to claim that they were
Cornish, but a colleague reminded him that" Just 'cos the cat has
kittens in the oven it doesn't make them pasties, m'dear!!"
Mike gained tremendous experience from being treasurer of the City of
Truro Chamber of Commerce, Treasurer and founder member of the Truro
Junior Chamber of Commerce and Finance Controller of the Royal Cornwall
Show. It was during one of these annual shows that he was spotted by
one of the bank's Regional Directors and within six weeks had been
promoted to Sub-Manager in Salcombe, a picturesque sailing town in
South Devon. The Bank had obviously type cast Mike and after three
years his next promotion resulted in the family moving 'offshore' to
Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the Mecca of world sailing. Not
surprisingly he became the treasurer of the 9 hole Cowes Golf Club
where he achieved his first hole in one and reduced his handicap to 9.
While in Cowes his wife, Lesley, learned to sail and nearly took part
in the ill fated Fastnet Race of 1979. It was here also that Mike had
his first taste of Round Table and Lesley, Ladies Circle,
organisations, which were to prove to be very beneficial to them in
future years.
In 1981 Mike received an invitation to become Manager of the Sandwich
Branch of Lloyds in Kent and within months was heavily involved in
running the Bank's representation at the Britsh Open Golf Championship
at Royal St.Georges Golf Club rubbing shoulders with the great and the
good at Jack Nicklaus' cocktail Party. He took on other treasureships,
that of the local RNLI and Chamber of Commerce. Both he and Lesley
became Vice Chairmen in Round Table and Ladies Circle. By growing the
bank's business at Sandwich by 300% in three years Mike was again
promoted to a prestigious Branch of the Bank at Eastbourne and after
three years became a District Manager based in the Regional Office at
Tunbridge Wells where he was principally responsible for marketing
within the twenty-four branches under his control. About this time he
took part in the London Marathon, while also maintaining his enthusiasm
for other sports particularly golf and squash.
In 1987 Mike was appointed Senior Manager of the Bank's flagship branch
in Brighton, where he oversaw a multi million pound renovation and saw
the branch become the most profitable branch in the country. He also
became a member of the Brighton Rotary Club. After a further three
years and having survived the recession, Mike was moved to his last
position as Senior Manager responsible for the six branches based on
Hove. These final years were probably the least enjoyable of the total
of 34 with the Bank, and thus when the 4 branches then grouped on
Brighton came together with Hove he managed to persuade the Bank to let
him retire early. Thus started a new chapter in their lives, with Mike
becoming more involved with the Royal Eastbourne Golf Club, leading to
him becoming Captain in 2000-2001. This was a great honour especially
for one who had only been a member for seven years. At this time Lesley
also retired from her job as a clinic clerk with the Eye Clinic in the
local hospital.
During all through this busy and full life Mike has persued an untiring
and committed interest in the history of the PRANCE family,
accumulating and disseminating information from and to countless people
and agencies around the world. He is the driving force behind the
project and we are indebted to him for this and hope that the book he
is writing and the trees that he has researched and drawn up will be
available to all soon. So all Prance related people out there if we
haven't already heard from you, contact us through the web site or mail
Mike direct at......
