Malcolm Boden

Malcolm Boden, the quiet, twinkling blue eyed senior consultant at Royal Heritage Asset Management is a man who has only had two careers - one in the British Army and the other in financial services, yet he comes across as a very well rounded person with many years of diverse experiences. It is only after talking and delving that you find out just how diverse.

Malcolm was born in Leicester in the UK, and lived in the rough end of town. “You had to beware when you walked out the door.” He was the fourth child in a family of seven, and typically of multi children households, the elder children take on some of the responsibilities of rearing. Malcolm speaks with fondness and pride of his elder sister who eventually became an international hockey player and Captain of the Great Britain Handball Team and who once stood up for her young brother knocking the local bully flat. “She was a bloody good footballer as well,” he said. Some girl!

He describes himself as having been a bit of a rogue at school and when he was 16 years old, left home and joined the British Army. “When you live in a big family and you’re sharing a bed, it’s time to get out.”

The army gave him a bed all for himself and he was so grateful he stayed with them for the next 19 years! The life suited him; he could indulge himself in sports, and took on the training to be an instructor in the transport area. Football was one his passions and he was good enough to be a representative player for the British Army team, which competed against many of the well known FA Cup sides. Their best result with Malcolm in the squad was a draw against Southampton.

It was also while in the army that he met and married his spouse Christina, now in their 22nd year of marriage. He had another significant event happen to him in his early years in the army as well - he found out he was a diabetic. However, he refused to let this change his lifestyle, despite having to have daily injections, being a firm believer in “Don’t let a disability stop you doing what you want to do.”

The army continued to train Malcolm and he progressed to become a trainer for successive groups of trainers below him. He did two tours of duty in Northern Ireland in 1977 and 1985, and survived both. But after 19 years in the service, with the British Army scaling down, Malcolm accepted the army’s offer of early retirement. “I became a pensioner aged 35,” he laughed at the thought of it all.

The next career beckoned. He joined a financial services company, but admitted, “I didn’t even know what they did!” However, he picked it up fast, and within his first full year in the financial services field he came 5th in the UK and was promoted into management, progressing through to become a business manager with the South Coast of England as his area of responsibility.

But the financial services arena was not the only side to Malcolm Boden. Malcolm is a dyed-in-the-wool traveller. In his holidays, he would go overseas to escape the wet and chills of the UK. At the time of interview he thought that he had visited forty two different countries, many of them several times. However, he is not the “exotic beach resort where you lie back and do nothing” type of traveller - he likes places of interest, visiting Egypt three times for example. It was also during these annual holiday sojourns that Malcolm and Christina first discovered Thailand.

Despite having settled in Dorset, complete with a home for himself and Christina, and his secure job, Malcolm had always harboured a dream of living and working abroad - the next step of progression after his many overseas holiday trips. A position became available in Singapore and Malcolm went for it - to be given a post in Vienna instead! However, this was not the warm tropics - Vienna was more like Dorset and when he met Martin McNicholas of Royal Heritage Asset Management when he and Christina were over here on holidays he asked if there were any positions going in Thailand. The rest, as they say, is history.

Malcolm has fitted into the Pattaya scene very well. The weather, the friendliness of the people and the inexpensive cost of living (especially compared with England) has made Thailand very easy to take. He has become a charity worker and one of the executive committee for the newly formed UK Club, and has also taken up lawn bowls (how English can you get)! The avid sportsman is still interested, but the more violent forms are out. “My knee took too much stick when I was younger,” he said somewhat ruefully.

Success for Malcolm is, “To have a reasonable lifestyle to enable me to look after my family and enjoy myself.” He admits to having got there, according to his own definition. “I’ve got a nice house and a bit of money and I’m happy with my life.”

When I asked him about advice for youngsters following in his footsteps he replied, “I would advise anyone to join the army. You grow up quickly and learn to take care of yourself.” He did add the rider, “Get a good education first,” being a strong advocate of education for all. In fact his only regret in discussing his life to date was, “The only thing I would change would be to stay on a bit longer at school.”

Malcolm Boden relishes his job here. “We help people plan for the future - we really help people.” We believe you, Malcolm, we really do!