Michael Mayne

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The Very Rev Michael Clement Otway Mayne KCVO (10 September 1929 – 22 October 2006) was an English clergyman who served as Dean of Westminster.

Mayne was educated at The King's School, Canterbury and later at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and Cuddesdon Theological College, Oxford.

In 1972 Mayne was made the head of religious programmes for BBC Radio, and in 1979 he became the vicar of Great St. Mary's, the university church of Cambridge.

In 1986 he was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to become Dean of Westminster Abbey, a position he held until 1996. During his tenure he selected various people to be commemorated in the abbey, including Oscar Wilde, Alexander Pope, Edward Lear, Robert Herrick and Matthew Arnold. On his retirement in 1996 he was made Dean Emeritus of Westminster and also received his KCVO.

During his 50s Mayne was diagnosed with ME and wrote a book about his experiences living with the syndrome (A Year Lost and Found). In 2005 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the jaw and this led him to write a book about his battle with cancer (The Enduring Melody). [1]