Doug Rogers RIPEulogyDoug, a Freeman of The City of London, was a man who stuck to his principles, to what he thought was right. One of his work colleagues in Australia said of Doug, " My abiding memory of Doug will always be his absolutely infallible humour - a laconic wit - he truly lightened my life, as I'm sure he did for so many others, with his wonderful nature and his irrepressible take on life. He was a greatly valued colleague and a vital link in dealing with the parent company. His guidance in that context was invaluable and it was given in a good and trusting spirit." Doug started his Banking career in Barclays Bank in the 60's then moved to BNP before joining Hill Samuel Merchant Bank. Working in the International Lending Department brought Doug to many different countries, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and South America where he had 46 meetings in one week. He also travelled to Europe. Doug was a stickler for detail and had a great eye for things. He was very proud of his job and trained a huge number of graduates from Oxford and Cambridge to a very high standard when they joined the bank and gave them a great head start in their banking career. Later Doug joined the Audit Team. He came to Ireland in the early 90's on an audit and this is when Doug and I met. We then had 27 wonderful years together after that moment. Doug loved Ireland, the walks down the pier in DunLaoghaire, the traditional Irish music, singing in the pubs, his pint of Guinness, going fishing, trips to the West of Ireland and generally trying to take off the Irish accent. In 1995 we both returned to live in London. Doug took early retirement from HS and then became the Auditor for Harrods Bank for 5 years. One of Doug's dreams was to own a boat. We bought a traditional Dutch cruiser. Once equipped with our Inland waterways licence and radio, we enjoyed boating in Holland and Belgium over the next 8 years during the summer months. There was never a dull moment. On one occasion, Doug and a Dutch friend were taking the boat from Belgium back into Holland. Doug suddenly noticed an oncoming boat with a German flag where a guy was leaping up and down waving at him. He then looked behind only to his horror to see a huge commercial barge about to sink them. He quickly managed to get the boat out of the path of the barge into safety. When they arrived at the lock, the police were waiting for them on the other side as the captain of the barge had reported them. "Don't let me see you in these waterways again," was the remark from the police. Doug loved doing research and we both did a huge amount in The Public Records Office in Kew amongst other places on behalf of my brother Niall who owned Martello Tower No 7 at Killiney Hill, Co. Dublin. We got permission to make a pattern from a cannon in Fort Nelson in Portsmouth and then attended the casting of the cannon in a foundry in Kent. That was followed by a proof firing in Fort Nelson where Doug and Niall dressed up in military uniforms for the occasion. Once the cannon was installed on the Tower we had the official opening of the new Restored Martello Tower and the first firing of the cannon. Doug was delighted to accompany Niall with a special branch escort to a gunpowder factory where they collected the gunpowder to fire the cannon. It was one of the very few occasions where Doug agreed not to light up a cigarette as he and Niall flew along the dual carriageway with their police escort. This was one of many firings that we attended in The Martello Tower. Doug was instrumental in setting up the Barbican Art Society Charity. Having attended art classes for some years we decided it should become a charity. Doug was one of the Trustees and did a huge amount in helping all the other Trustees in getting the Charity off the ground. The Barbican Art Society Charity now has approximately 80 students ranging from late 20's to people in their 90's all enjoying the wonderful art classes that we run. It helps those who live in the community here in the Barbican and those all over London. We have had several successful art exhibitions and one in the Barbican Library where Doug sold a few of his paintings. Doug was diagnosed with cancer in 2010. This came as a terrible shock to both of us. For the next 4 years we lived in fear not knowing how long he would live. Then Doug was put on a trial that turned out to be a huge success and extended his life by 5 years. He amazed all the consultants and medical people we met. The consultant decided that they needed to write a paper on Doug and he was allocated a final year medical student called T J from Singapore to write this paper. Sadly, last year, after experiencing a side effect to the drug, Doug spent 3 dreadful weeks in hospital and was later diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. During his long and brave journey Doug never complained once; he made the decision that a good quality of life was better than extended time having chemotherapy. He enjoyed his last Christmas with my family in Ireland by the sea and over the next few months we lived a quiet life listening to the Dutch radio, chatting in French and Dutch, playing scrabble, playing chess, doing crosswords, having chats over cups of coffee and short walks to sit in a park and listen to the birds singing and watching nature. Doug loved his sport and was a keen follower of Cricket, Rugby, Horse Racing and a supporter of Charlton Athletic. Doug loved his children, Jo, Nick and Liz and was very proud of them despite not seeing them as often as he would have wished. He also loved both of his beautiful granddaughters Martha and Steffie and was particularly touched last year when Steffie came over and spoke to him. Doug will always be remembered in our hearts as a man who thought always of others first and never of himself. May he Rest in Peace.
Sylvia
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