Royal Alfred Seafarers News

Mr Philip Wake OBE RD MSc FNI has been appointed an Ordinary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the UK’s New Year’s Honours’ List for his services to the maritime industry. Philip was elected a Fellow of The Nautical Institute in 1996, and became Chairman of the voluntary London Branch soon after. Having served in the Secretariat since November 1999, he became the Chief Executive of The Nautical Institute in May 2003. During his time as Chief Executive, The Nautical Institute has developed its reach as a professional membership organisation, now serving members in 120 countries. The Nautical Institute continues to promote professionalism, safety and best practice to the industry as a whole, through a range of publications and free resources, including the Alert!

A national maritime charity is set to publish a commemorative book in celebration of its 150th anniversary and is calling for people to come forward with their stories and memories. The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, based in Banstead in Surrey, is currently in the planning stages of producing a special book, which will be published in time to celebrate the landmark birthday in May 2015. Members of the public with family and friends who have received help from or are connected in some way with the Society, both past and present, are encouraged to share their memories and anecdotes, which could be included in the book. The book ‘Home from Sea’…

Two employees of one of the U.K.’s oldest maritime charities have been reminiscing after celebrating a collective 80 years of service at the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society. Margaret Brazier and Anne Kasey have dedicated 50 and 30 years respectively to the Banstead based seafarers’ care home, which provides nursing care and accommodation support to elderly, sick or disabled seafarers, their widows and dependants. During this period, both have seen numerous changes to the home including its facilities…

Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society Recognizes Long Service at Annual AGM. Two trustees of one of the U.K.’s oldest maritime charities have been presented with long service awards by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal in recognition of a combined 60 years supporting the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society. As well as presenting silver framed certificates to Captain Mike Marchant MBE and Captain Anthony David Braithwaite OBE RD RNR, who served the society for 23 years and 37 years respectively the Princess Royal also met with staff…

Charity Launches New, Online Resource for Former Mariners Who Suffer in Silence. As the country comes together to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Atlantic this month - the longest continuous military campaign of the second world war - a Surrey care home which specializes in the care of former mariners has said too many veterans of both the Royal and Merchant Navy are prone to suffer in isolation during their twilight years, rather than seeking the specialist support often available to them.

A maritime care home has joined the national Dementia Friends campaign as part of its ongoing drive to both expand its specialist care provision and provide a wider support network for the families of residents suffering from the disease. The announcement comes in the run up to this year’s Dementia Awareness Week (May 19-25, 2013), designed to promote greater awareness about the disease and the support available. The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, which opened its specialist care unit in 2011…

A Royal Navy Veteran visited a Surrey school to encourage youngsters to consider important professions in the Royal and Merchant Navy, ahead of World Maritime Day on Thursday 27th September. Roy Ticehurst is a resident at the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society; a Surrey based nursing home which provides dedicated accommodation and care to former seafarers and their dependants. The visit to Woodmansterne Primary School will raise awareness of the important role the Merchant and Royal Navy play in our society among the younger generation…

The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society Supports Campaign to Help Sailors. Sailors are renowned for spinning a good yarn, however on this occasion it is a volunteer at the land-locked Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society who has been getting busy with her knitting needles to make hats for mariners as part of Woolly Hat Week (6-13 Feb). Maureen Phillips has spearheaded a knitting frenzy at the care home, which provides dedicated accommodation and care to former seafarers, and has already produced 15 hats which will be given as gifts to sailors who arrive as strangers in ports all over the world.

The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society’s Christmas Carol Service Helps Residents Remember. Dementia residents at The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society will be hitting the high notes this Christmas at a carol service which marks the culmination of an innovative programme of ‘musical therapy’ introduced this year to help their condition. The care home, which provides dedicated nursing and respite care to former seafarers and non-seafarers, introduced singing and music sessions to help relax residents’ minds and take the fear out of the condition which affects 750,000 in the UK.

Maritime Organization Claims Smaller Charities are Suffering from Fall in Legacy Giving Ahead of Make a Will Month. Surrey based Maritime charity the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, which provides vital residential, nursing and specialist dementia care to former seafarers, has highlighted the importance of legacy giving ahead of National Make a Will month in November. Legacies are a key income source for UK charities, raising around £2 billion each year. However, trends suggest that the flow of legacies are at risk as budgetary cuts are felt across the country.

A group of former seafarers encouraged youngsters to consider important professions in the Royal and Merchant Navy, on World Maritime Day on Friday 30 September. Residents at the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, a Surrey based home which provides dedicated accommodation and care to former seafarers and their dependants, said there is not enough awareness of the important role the Merchant and Royal Navy play in our society among the younger generation. Great Britain’s maritime sector is the largest in Europe…

World Travel, Camaraderie and Exciting Voyages Characterise a Career in the Maritime Industry, but Employment Figures Show Disinterest. A group of former seafarers encouraged youngsters to consider important professions in the Royal and Merchant Navy, on World Maritime Day on Friday 30 September. Residents at the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, a Surrey based home which provides dedicated accommodation and care to former seafarers and their dependants, said there is not enough awareness of the important role the Merchant and Royal Navy play in our society among the younger generation.

A group of veteran seafarers are encouraging youngsters to consider what has become an important but ‘forgotten profession’ as the country prepares to celebrate Merchant Navy Day on September 3. Residents at the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, a Surrey based home which provides dedicated accommodation and care to former seafarers and their dependants, said there is not enough awareness of the important role the Merchant Navy plays in our society among the younger generation.

In the UK, Captain Duncan Glass OBE, chairman of the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, has been awarded the Merchant Navy Medal for exceptional services to navigational safety and to seafarers’ charities. The award focuses on outstanding contribution made to merchant shipping, its operations, development, personnel, welfare or safety, or on those who have performed an act of courage afloat. Captain Duncan Glass was awarded the medal by Admiral Lord West of Spithead at a ceremony attended by many senior figures from across the industry including the minister Mike Penning MP.

Maritime charity, the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, has launched a nationwide campaign designed to mark the Year of the Seafarer and to capture modern-day seafaring sayings, which will form part of the maritime linguistic inheritance that we perhaps unknowingly use every day. As part of the campaign, the Society is teaming up with the author of naval slang and jargon guide ‘Jackspeak’ Rick Jolly OBE, a former Royal Navy surgeon-captain, to produce a new compendium of modern nautical terms for the next edition of his book. The Society is calling on serving and retired members of the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy, fishermen and port workers nationwide to get involved in the ‘Royal Alfred Gung Ho Language Workshop’…