About Harvey

They say that life is full of surprises and they're not wrong. As a youngster growing up in West Cornwall I couldn't have envisaged I'd be Ordained by the Church of England at the age of 44.

I was born in Plymouth and moved around as a child, living in Cornwall, Birmingham and Portland in Dorset, before returning to Plymouth in 1977. Accompanying my gran to the Methodist Chapel in Newlyn was my initiation into Church life - the saffron buns and heavy cake laid on after the service were the highlight, as I recall.

I completed an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering at the former Plymouth factory, Arrow Hart, and went on to work in a couple of other factories in the city before entering the world of civil and structural engineering.

I'm married to Annie and we have a grown-up son. Annie and I both share a passion for Chelsea Football Club and we also enjoy amateur photography which gets us out of the house, even on cold winter days.

After selection and training at the beginning of the millennium, the Church of England licensed me as a Reader (a lay or non-ordained minister). Following further study, I was Ordained in 2005, after which time I entered into full-time ministry and completed my theology degree at Exeter University.

I have been operating as an independent funeral celebrant in Plymouth since 2009. This enables me to extend a greater level of support and care to bereaved families.