Spencer Graham Atkinson was born 12th June 1967, at St Catherine’s Hospital Birkenhead, Wirral to Patricia and Graham Atkinson.
Pats daughter Kim was excited to receive a little brother and the family was completed with the arrival Gina several years later.
Growing up Spencer would regularly escape chores by commando crawling under the window disappearing out of sight leaving Kim to do the washing up. This was probably preferable to being used as target practice in the garden. The fate of little sister Gina! - Maybe the reason she joined the Army.
The active life was always for Spencer.
Boys Brigade and completing his Duke of Edinburgh Award with some of his lifelong friends at an early age, the boys would often head of to North Wales for weekends exploring the countryside, lakes and rivers, his love of nature and all creatures great and small was the theme of his life supporting many historical and conservation charities throughout his short life.
Working with his dad on the fish van when he could, a regular paper round and a Saturday job on the meat stall in Birkenhead market while attending Ridgeway High School, Noctorum Wirral.
His career officially started on 17th July 1983 as an Apprentice mechanical fitter at Seaforth Welding Ltd.
Spending his first year at the Cammell Laird Training School and ending his career as
Project Director at Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Limited.
During this time he travelled the UK networking and managing ships from North to South, making his mark and more importantly great friends.
He spent time setting up the Cammell Laird name in Gibraltar, the apartment Spencer and Catherine called “The Pink Palace” became famous and regularly hosted visits from friends and family, however the chef painted on the kitchen door was eventually evicted!
Spencer could be regularly found at HMS Rook Gibraltar as part of his reservist duties working in the stores in his spare time, sailing off the coast with Stevie or in the 3 Owls relaxing with friends.
Spencer joined the Royal Naval Reserve, HMS Eaglet Liverpool in February 1988 as Petty office marine engineering artificer (POMEA). The boys from the Old and Bold Affiliation have many a tail to tell!
Going away to sea on river class minesweepers increased his skills of power napping and sleeping through almost anything. The charity gun pull through Liverpool was an achievement he was immensely proud of and he kept in touch with many of comrades from the reserves not just through work but socially too.
When he married Catherine,Father John Williams MBE Chaplin from HMS Eaglet took the service and was honoured that Spencer asked him to take his final goodbye on 10th June 2020.
Spencer was blessed to have made a firm circle of friends at early age that not only stayed in touch but met regularly.
Thursday night was always 5 aside, then back to the local pub in Oxton, football season every game attended at Goodison Park - a true Blue Evertonian through and through and season ticket holder the time spent with his mates a priority of his life style. No match on a Saturday? You’d find them on the golf course.
Skiing holidays another priority and the training for the boys ski holiday started in January to be in top shape for the slopes or was that for the off piste activities? He continued his annual ski trips with Vale Colorado being a firm favourite although Austria holds some very amusing tales.
Travel wasn’t on the top of the list for Spencer as he loved exploring the countryside in the U.K but he was fortunate to travel far and wide having more than one vacation a year enjoying city breaks, snowy destinations and sun of the Caribbean which was his play ground for many years.
Back in the late 90’s he attended a polo match in Barbados at Holders Hill and on returning to the UK attended The Jaguar cup which he would go onto win in July 2019, after a taking up polo in his late 30’s.
He was a popular and well loved member of Cheshire Polo Club. In the later years of his life Spencer would finished work and travelled up the motorway into Cheshire every night to his own beloved horses.
How he fitted everything in shows what a zest for life he had, as he had many other hobbies and interests. Falconry, fencing, scuba diving and cross country riding a few more of his accomplishments.
Any history interested Spencer especially military history the book shelves where full, as well as the bathroom floor.
Spencer’s own home was in Oxton bought in 1999 with Catherine. He remodelled and updated the 400 year old cottage with dedication and skill that he brought to everything, the property was his pride and joy and some of the stones he sourced from local buildings preserving bits of history.
He passed away at his most recent partner’s home in Upton, who he married a few weeks prior to his passing.
https://www.clbh.co.uk/ Cammell Laird
https://cheshirepoloclub.com/ Cheshire polo club
https://memorycloud.org.uk/tribute/spencer-graham-atkinson-1/