the end of WWII when he traded cigarettes and did a “tea round” selling tea to other soldiers too lazy to make their own in the heat. Back on home soil, he entered the world of retail by working in a furniture store. He was such a strong character the shop owner said he would either end up in prison or turn up one day in a Rolls-Royce. Noel knew which path to take, left the business, and four years later, sure enough, he pulled up in his Roller. He built up his own furniture business, popularising the concept of a dining room suite by selling tables with matching chairs, and introducing bunk beds to the family home (things that hadn't been widely done before). This entrepreneurial spirit and constant re-evaluation of what works best led him to a fortune when his empire grew and he set up furniture giant MFI — launching the concept of shed retailing and out-of-town shopping while essentially inventing the concept of flat pack self-assembly furniture (even hiring out roof racks so customers had no excuse not to buy that very day!) Noel was a bold adventurer and pretty fearless. He campaigned his racing yachts over many years during the time he ran MFI and accumulated a large amount of silverware against top national and international competition in RORC races, Fastnet etc. After an exhilarating and life-changing career as a retail genius he sold MFI for an extraordinary sum of money at the age of 58 and further indulged his passion for sailing, spending a good decade or so sailing around the world with his wife Sylvia on their beloved 103 ft boat, Whirlwind XII. He was not at all interested in Mediterranean glamour - his favourite destination was Alaska where he could enjoy being chased by grizzlies. While sailing the world he had time to reflect on his wonderful life — and he knew he wanted to give something back. Sylvia explained: “He would say, “I can’t have all this money and not let children enjoy the sea as much as we do.” He knew he wanted to find a way of giving children confidence, and he felt a great way to do this would be to give them the opportunity to get out onto the water. His whole aim was to give disabled or disadvantaged children the chance to go sailing, and this