In a series about Catholic charities, the national director of Stella Maris reflects on offering practical and spiritual support for those in peril on the sea

I have been national director of Stella Maris UK since June 2023, and I feel I’m a round peg in the roundest possible hole. For 36 years, I was an infantry officer in the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, and I spent much of my time looking after soldiers and their families: careers, marriages, finances, everything. I’m also a keen yachtsman. I understand how tough life at sea is: not just the weather and the cold, but the isolation, the separation from loved ones, the sense of helplessness when you’re away from home for a long period. So, caring for those working at sea – many of them just youngsters, in their twenties – comes naturally to me. I believe God put this job my way, and I’m so grateful to him.

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