Orbituary for Mike Townsend (1939-2025)
Mike was President of Eurojumelages from 2004 until 2007, he also was Chair of BTITF (BT International Twinning Federation) from 2018.
Following an article I wrote in the BTITF magazine after my first OSCAR at Burg Breuberg (Germany) in 1997, Mike joined me in 1998 at Col des Feignes (France), this was the start of his OSCAR experience over many years with his wife Sheila and other BTITF members from York and Manchester joining us. When the Manchester Section disbanded Mike, Sheila and two other former Manchester members, joined the York Section in 2018.
Mike loved cycling and every summer he would cycle in France with a group of friends.
He enjoyed life to the full. Any social event with Mike was fun, he was a great raconteur. Anyone who has spent a social evening with Mike will appreciate his charm and sincerity. He will be sadly missed, but we treasure knowing him.
Mike was married to Sheila who supported him through his illness along with daughters Sally and Jenny. Professionally, he held a senior position at BT.
Tony Tate
CHAIR BT YORK TWINNING GROUP
BOARD MEMBER EUROJUMELAGES
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th November 2025.
13.00 Tuesday 11th November 2025 - Stockport Crematorium, Rowan Chapel SK2 6LS.
14.00 onwards Tuesday 11th November - Railway pub, Rose Hill, Marple SK6 6EN.
11.00 Wednesday 12th November 2025 - Interment at Thornsett Woodland Cemetery, New Mills SK22 1BA
Donations in Mike's name to Amnesty or UNHCR.
The service will be streamed on line so if you wish to join in please send your email address to asap, the recording of the ceremony will be available for five days .
President's noteDear friends of Eurojumelages,
From 14 to 20 September 2025, a multi-section meeting took place in Ireland with 53 participants from Ireland, France, Poland and Germany. Our friend and Eurojumelages board member John Murphy and his team from the Galway section gave us a warm welcome to the „Wild Atlantic Way“ tour.
Together, we enjoyed culture, nature, regional cuisine and much more on this tour; the Irish weather came free of charge, with lots of rain and even more wind. Another special feature of this time together was a reading by our Irish friend Gabriel Henry from his newly published book “One Inch of Joy”. Congratulations!
The meeting culminated on the last evening with traditional Irish dancing and Irish music. We were able to enjoy the warm hospitality of our Irish friends for a whole week. It was – once again – an impressive, well-organised meeting with a very interesting programme. Many thanks!
The special atmosphere is reflected in the following report and photos...
Multi-Section Meeting, Ireland, Sept 2025
Meitheal Jumelages Gaillimh hosted a Multi-Section Meeting in the North-West of Ireland, from the 14th to 20th September 2025.
In all, 53 people attended the meeting, comprising representatives from the Section Bonn(DE), Nord-Isere(FR), Bielsko-Biala(PL) and Galway(IR).
In addition, we had guest visitors from Section Darmstadt(DE) and Strasbourg(FR) in attendance.
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