Martyn Overton:
CLASS OF 1966
King Edward VII Grammar SchoolClass of 1966
Coalville,
Martyn's Story
Hello – sorry about the profile being blank for a while but I’m following one of my main interests. I’m touring the Tirol and Italian mountains in early spring in my motorhome. I avoid social media and unsure about classmates to so this is a little strange and far too long
Well, back in the 60’s after a setback I eventually decided to work, re-sat my A levels again and went to College and then Birmingham University for a 4year B.Ed. in Ecology and Philosphy. Graduating in 1970 European Conservation Year I started work with the Field Studies Council first of all as one of the first three members of staff of Epping Forest Conservation Centre near London teaching mainly East London children It was Europes first conservation and education centre and the lady who became my wife in 1974 was the other member of staff. From there I moved to Bournemouth LEA as Deputy in 1972 and then Head in 1974 of their residential environmental education centre near Swanage in the Isle of Purbeck. I was very fortunate to be seconded on full pay for one year at Southampton University for an MSc in Geographical Education and two further years research followed. After 10 glorious years and the birth on my two children we moved West to Cornwall where I took over Europes first Environmental Centre for children and adults with profound and multiple special needs. Living now on the edge of Bodmin Moor working with very young multiple handicapped children to adults with physical or profound learning difficulties we worked out of doors in all conditions in environmental and outdoor education. People attended intially from all over the UK and then when we became the European Centre of excellence, all over Europe. Again this developed into a training establishment and Kath and myself ran courses in EU countries as well as running expeditions for people with special needs abroa...Expand for more
d. I was once more fortunate to win a Churchill Fellowship and went to the States and Canada living and working with young people with disabilities in challenging conditions. Many publications arose from this and I spent 4 years on a related MPhil. Together with almost all their Headteachers I was made redundant after 10 years service. That was very hard and I dont think now over 20 years later I have recovered. One outcome of the Fellowship was that I took up running seriously. . Im still running, now 22 years later but only 20 miles a week having once run 13 marathons in 13 days to raise money for the charity and in many countries mountains and deserts. Following redundancy I taught at Hampshire Agricultural College then at 50 I went further West and taught IT for two years in a school in Penzance. I then left the classroom and taught short intensive IT residential courses for teachers all over the UK sponsored by the Lottery Fund.
Back in 1973 I realised schools and Universities were being very badly supported by the large science equipment companies and I designed and manufactured equipment in my spare time as a service. That I kept going and it slowly grew so when in 2000 my IT work finished I became self employed developing the business. Only last year at 70 did I hand over to others a very successful niche business supplying nearly all UK and many European Universities, Environmental groups, and Government Agencies. So after all that I have just moved from the edge of Bodmin Moor to live in a tiny village with Kath on the Tamar Estuary in Cornwall a few hundred yards from the sea. We also have a small house in the largest forest in Europe 65K south of Bordeaux where there are immense warm water lakes for me to teach my grand children to sail and that is where Im headed to at the end of this trip from winter snow to Alpine Spring.
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