[1][2] Then, he attended King's College, London, graduating with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) teaching qualification in 1956,[3] and a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree after only two years of study in 1958.
[4][5] In 2003, he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree by Anglia Polytechnic University: his doctoral thesis was titled "'As by magic': the growth of 'new London', north of the Thames 1918-1945 and the response of the Church of England" and combined his love of geography with his strong Christianity.
[3] He was also involved with amateur dramatics, and served on the council of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators of Great Britain from 1970.
[5][1] On 2 January 2011, he was a passenger on a boat travelling across the River Thames from Pharaoh's Island to Shepperton when it overturned: a non-swimmer, he was one of two people to die in the accident.
[4] In the 2000 New Year Honours, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to geographical scholarship.