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Saying farewell to our Bill

20 Nov, 2023

Today friends and family are gathering to say farewell to a member of the Sailors'​ Society' family for more than 50 years - chaplain Bill McCrea.

A larger than life character, full of love, laughter and compassion for the many seafarers he met in his years of service and his colleagues in the UK and overseas.
Today, as we say farewell to Bill, and celebrate his long and rich life, we hold his beloved wife Rosaleen, his whole family and loved ones in our prayers.

Bill began as a chaplain with the Society in 1969 and was posted to Jamaica the following year. A number of overseas postings followed - Rotterdam, Antwerp and Houston, Texas.

He was chaplain to the Merchant College Greenhithe and the National Sea Training College Gravesend when the Zeebrugge disaster claimed the lives of 193 people in 1987.

Bill was closely involved with mariners and their bereaved families in the aftermath and took the funerals of a number of crew members. It affected him greatly and he spoke with such emotion and clarity about those events even 30-plus years on.

Bill’s final posting was to Southampton which lasted until his retirement in 2006. A special service was held to mark his then 37 years of service. The Society’s Principal Chaplain David Potterton remarked: “When God wanted a Bill McCrea, he didn’t just shake the tree and see what fell to the ground, he personally grew, nourished and hand-picked the man giving him sufficient faith, love and hope to do the job required of him”.

It is a testament to Bill's commitment and passion for his work and calling that he continued as a volunteer for some 15 years until 2021 when he and Rosaleen moved away.

Thank you Bill from the many seafarers and their families whose lives you touched and changed for the better and from all of us at Sailors' Society.

We will miss you!

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