Son of Bernard, born in Japan, Michael took a degree in Natural Science at Cambridge.  As a teenager he helped out in the  Pottery, and after teaching for a few years after University he decided, in 1937, to take up pottery for a living and returned to join his brother David at the Leach Pottery in St Ives.

In 1940 Michael was enlisted and sent to East Africa to serve in the Pioneer Corps. He was released from military duty in 1942 to establish a commercial pottery in Uganda, where he met and married his wife Myra. In 1946 they returned to England, where he worked for some years supplementing his income by teaching pottery at Penzance School of Art (replacing his brother).