Don Head, Chartered Surveyor

Born in Angmering, Sussex, Don was educated at Chichester High School, leaving to become an articled clerk to a Sussex chartered surveyor. The property business was booming in the 1950s, which led him to choose the profession. His articles gave him a wide range of experience and he studied for exams by correspondence course, qualifying in 1961. He then took a post with London firm Bryanston Chambers, land stewards to the Duchy of Cornwall in Kennington. Perks included visits to the Oval: they were the ground landlords! On marriage, he decided to move out of London, and worked for the Commission for the New Towns (CNT) in Crawley, Sussex, later working In Bracknell, dealing with selling land for private housing. When Milton Keynes’ development started, Don thought it the most innovative new town by far – and a step up the career ladder. He was appointed as an Assistant Estates officer, and started work at MKDC in 1972. When MKDC began to prepare for closure in 1992, Don transferred to Morgan Grenfell Laurie, the privatised property management company, but MKDC continued to employ him until 1992. After retirement from MKDC at that point, Don became a Lecturer in Property Management for De Montfort University until 2003.