It was ‘au revoir’ but not ‘goodbye’ as long-serving lifeboat operations manager (LOM) Roger Gillett handed his pager over to the new Dungeness LOM, Vicky Morgan, last week.
Vicky has been part of the team at Dungeness since 2016, when she joined as lifeboat visits officer and is promoted from her current role as deputy launch authority. Vicky’s husband, John, is a serving member of the RNLI crew.
With a background in sports therapy, she enjoys some eclectic hobbies including fire-breathing, martial arts and skiing. A proactive advocate of the station and its volunteers for many years, Vicky said; “I’m incredibly proud to be a part of the team at Dungeness. The volunteers here are all one family and always pull together to save lives at sea. I have enjoyed volunteering alongside Roger and value all the help he has given me and continues to give me.”
Roger has been an integral part of the RNLI team on the south coast since 1989 when he joined the crew at Littlestone lifeboat station and soon made his way to become helm in command of the boat. He moved to Dungeness in 1997 as part of the all-weather lifeboat crew under coxswain Stuart Adams.
Retiring from the seas in 2016 Roger took the reins as lifeboat operations manager, a role in which he became both respected and admired as he led the Dungeness team, always putting the volunteers first.
Coxswain Stuart Adams said; “Roger has been such an asset to all the team, and particularly the volunteers over the years and has my utmost respect for his dedication to the RNLI and our crew. I’m sure he won’t be a stranger at our station.”
Image Credits: Caroline Morris / RNLI , Ann Gillett / RNLI .