News

North Sea industry mourns its Chaplain

It is with great sadness that we announce to colleagues and clients the death of the Reverend Andrew John Jolly MBE, chaplain to the UK oil and gas industry and friend to many Sparrows employees, both on and offshore. Andrew passed away at home on 28 September 2010 following a long battle with cancer. He was 54.

The wider world will probably remember Andrew for the very dignified way he led our industry and community in grieving for colleagues lost in tragedies such as Flight 85N. But this was only one part of Andrew’s ministry.

Andrew was a familiar face offshore, with infinite patience and time for people. He had an extraordinary memory for faces and names. He conducted weddings for many in the industry – including some Sparrows colleagues. His unconventional ways of saying Grace at industry dinners were something of a legend.

It was an informal discussion with Andrew Jolly which led Sparrows to commit to an annual £3,000 donation to the Oil Chaplaincy Welfare Trust, which makes grants to families in the industry who, for health or similar reasons, find themselves in difficulty. Sparrows makes an additional £5,000 donation in years in which our North Sea safety targets are achieved – and Andrew was never slow to remind employees that their health and safety were not only his Christian concern, but were also of no small importance to his charity!

Doug Sedge, CEO of Sparrows, says “Andrew Jolly was a friend to many at Sparrows. He was well known to our offshore workforce, and a regular visitor to our base in Aberdeen. He was an outstanding servant to our industry and I took great pleasure in writing to him in June to congratulate him on the award of his well-deserved MBE.”

Rev Andrew Jolly was a ‘son of the manse’ in Aberdeen. He graduated Bachelor of Divinity from the University of Glasgow and served as a chaplain in the Army and the Royal Air Force and as a minister in parishes in Glasgow and Tayside.

He is survived by his wife, Chrissie and their two daughters, Sarah and Alexandra.

A Service of Thanksgiving will be held at the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting, Aberdeen at 2.30pm on Saturday, 2 October 2010 to which all are invited.  This will be preceded by the private funeral earlier in the day.