A dark day

The 7th October will always be a very dark day for the team, 7 years ago we lost one of our team member - "Michael "SPIKE" Williamson.

For a young Station Officer at the time, it was a difficult period as there is no training or guidance in the manuals to tell you how to deal with such a difficult situation. If fact when it comes to the management of the teams in general there is often a lot of work done by the Station Officers and their Deputies which many team members never see or hear about but that is the role of a manager.

Although volunteers, 10 to 13 team members will at times need support, guidance or welfare matters addressed. This is on top of the daily "Coastguard issues "like training and ensuring team members are fit for duty. Generally team matters flow with support and some guidance but sometimes decisions are made in the interests of others which not every team member will support - this is called the "joys of being in charge". As volunteers there are rules and regulations to follow and with the support of the Sector Manager these have to be employed to ensure the conduct of individuals is correctly managed.

Its always difficult to lose any team member for what ever reason, especially when they have given a lot to the Service.......the following weeks when Spike was lost were used to remember, continue and find a replacement, not easy.

Spike will never be forgotten, a visit to his grave with fresh flowers and quiet words will ensure his 30 years service to the town and Coastguard are remembered.