Thursday 11-03-2021 - 11:44

Ann Cotton, who worked with Danny at Endsleigh wrote this tribute:

Danny was born on 30th December 1948, in Morley, West Yorkshire, despite the widely held belief (frequently promoted by Danny himself!) that he was a Scotsman. He had one younger brother, Alistair, and after the family had travelled with his father on his various military placements, they settled in Dollar, Clackmannanshire.

Danny attended the Dollar Academy and then the Queen Victoria School in Dunblane. He started a degree in Dentistry at Edinburgh University before deciding that he didn’t really fancy spending his life looking down into other people’s mouths, so after only one year, he switched to Herriot Watt University to study Economics.

Danny was, of course, a closet fan of all things to do with buses and trains, with an extensive collection of books and timetables and model buses, although he drew the line at being referred to as a train spotter! He loved telling tales of when he worked as a “clippie” on the buses between Glasgow and Stirling before starting work for the National Union of Students in Scotland in the early 1970s. As Scottish Office Administrator he was responsible for Student Exchange Visits with the USSR. In 1974 he went to work as Admin Manager at NUS Travel. Danny then joined Endsleigh Insurances as Personnel Manager in 1976, where he worked until the car accident in Pau, France, in July 1995, which was to so drastically alter the course of the rest of his life. While at EIS he also helped with related student services developments, career advisors and the development of the personnel module in the MA in management at Exeter University. (Many of Danny’s former colleagues have expressed fond and admiring memories of him).

After the accident in 1995, Danny spent time in hospital in Pau, Cheltenham and Bath before eventually moving into a rehabilitation centre in Milton Keynes. After some searching, Danny was one of the first residents to move permanently into 46 London Road, a small specialised centre for only 10 people, built by the Headway Trust and where Danny was to spend the final 20 years of his life, being looked after by a dedicated and caring team of support staff, to whom those of us who loved Danny, will be forever in their debt.
 

Chris Widdowson on behalf of Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited wrote this tribute: 

It was with great sadness that we heard recently of the passing of our old colleague Danny Mullen. In his role as Personnel Manager, Danny was instrumental in forging the recruitment, training and development processes of our people at that time and, as a Senior Manager within the Company, had an influence in the day-to-day running of the business. Seldom seen without his trademark bow tie (often tartan in homage to his Scottish roots), Danny could light up a room just by his very presence. A natural raconteur and bon vivant, on social occasions Danny would often hold court way into the small hours with his engaging manner, storytelling and infectious personality. All the sadder then that following an accident, Danny’s ability to live life in the manner he would have wanted was so tragically moulded by the injuries he sustained. Fondly remembered by all colleagues who knew him, highly respected in his field and ultimately as a genuinely warm human being, Danny’s achievements are written into the history of Endsleigh.