And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

The loss of Bernie leaves a huge gap in our hearts, but he will remain a star for us to steer by. The friendliest of faces when I first arrived at SMRU. A lover of the sea and its shanties, my abiding memory will be the gusto with which he kicked off one of our ramshackle music nights with fearless solo renditions of ‘Haul away Joe’ (which I learned under his influence) and ‘Bonny ship the Diamond’, captivating the room with just his voice and his enthusiasm. He will be deeply and sorely missed.