Born in Wigan in 1918 and baptised Clifford, the young fr. Mark developed a keen interest in the circus. Some might say that this was ideal preparation for the Order. After leaving school he joined a travelling circus as a trapeze artist. At the outbreak of World War II he enlisted in the Welsh Guards. He was involved in the storming of Cassino in Italy. After the horrors of war he took a keener interest in his faith and felt a calling to the religious life.He decided to become a lay Brother in the English Province and went to Hawkesyard in 1954 and received the habit the following year. He moved to Oxford in 1956 and made solemn profession in 1962. Over the next decade he was moved seven times around the province but in 1972 he was assigned to Leicester and began to work in the Town Hall. He also worked at the minor seminary, St. Hugh's in Tollerton, where he often assisted with the running of sports teams within the school. When St. Hugh's was closed in 1986, he briefly returned to Oxford and in 1989 moved to The Priory of St. Michael the Archangel in Cambridge. During the final three years of his life he dedicated himself to caring the magnificent garden of the priory. On the morning of the 20th February, 1991 he died whilst working in the garden, aged 73 with 34 years of profession.
Eternal Rest Grant Unto Him, O Lord
and Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Him
May He Rest in Peace
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