New President for Scarborough Lifeboat Station
There hasn't been anyone in the role since 2011
Scarborough RNLI has appointed a new President of the Lifeboat Station.
Territorial Army Major (Ret), John Senior MBE, has been appointed as the President of Scarborough Lifeboat station, an honorary position which has remained unfilled since it was held by British barrister, Gilbert Gray QC, who died in 2011.
Local restauranteur and property developer, John Senior, joined the RNLI as the Lifeboat Operations Manager in 2013 and oversaw the transitional period during the construction of Scarborough’s new station in 2016 alongside station mechanic, Dave Horsley.
John stood down from the position of Operations Manager in 2018 and took up a role as Deputy Launch Authority and has remained a supporter of Scarborough Lifeboat Station giving much of his valuable time to the charity.
In his earlier life, John rose to the rank of Major in the British Territorial Army and was the first member of the TA to be deployed on operational service to Afghanistan in December 2001. Her Majesty the Queen appointed Senior a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire MBE in the 2016 News Years Honours list.
Senior, a family friend of former station president, Gilbert Gray, said: "I’m standing in some really big shoes that I can only hope to fill. Gilbert was a great man that the station crew, the RNLI, and the people of Scarborough held in very high regard. Being given the privilege to walk in Gilbert’s footsteps as president of Scarborough Lifeboat Station is a huge honour for me and I only hope Gilbert would approve!"
John will support station chairman, Colin Woodhead, along with the other members of the crew and act as a figurehead for Scarborough RNLI. In John’s own words, he will be: "making the tea and polishing the brass, and that is a great honour."