I met Max at my first Open World Championships, although I had corresponded with him intermittently in the prior years. TDs come in all shapes and sizes with various strengths and weaknesses, however it did not take me very long to realise why Max was the Head TD (and not one of the underlings). As a practitioner of his craft he was technically superb. He was also quite generous with his time to others less well schooled or experienced than himself. Probably nearly every TD currently working internationally would acknowledge his positive influence upon their careers and the personal benefits of working with and for him. I certainly consider him to have been both a mentor and of course a friend.Max was very quick-witted and was always ready with a solution to whatever the problem might be. He was especially adept when it came to the types of problems associated with movements and calculation. He was also an astute at-the-table Director, although in later years he seldom had the luxury of being able to obtain the facts first hand, instead having to make do with what was relayed to him by the floor Director.If Max was present at an event then the place to be late at night was the bar. Every evening he would hold court and the topics of conversation would oscillate between bridge, sport and music. Even for a non-drinker like myself, it was worth the price of admission; so I would arrive at about 10:30pm and stay for a couple of hours until either the bar closed or Max retired for what was left of the evening.Max avoided the lime-light, preferring instead to stay in the shadows. He studiously declined 'official' invitations to functions and (when he could) most other types of ceremony, preferring instead the company of friends and colleagues.After he resigned as Head TD of the WBF, he remained an integral part of the WBF Laws Committee. During the hectic final stages of the preparation of the 2017 Laws he continued to provide both critical insight and practical advice. Max at times could display signs of impatience and even frustration with those whom he considered were propagating nonsense, however he would then take a deep breath and proceed to gently explain the flawed nature of the argument being put forward.Max worked at his first World Championship in 1982 and his last in 2016. He was held in high regard by everyone he worked with, but more importantly he will deservedly be remembered with great affection as a kind and decent human being.