Trust Chaplain Roger marks 80th birthday in Royal company
As milestone birthdays go – they probably don’t come much bigger and better than meeting a senior member of the Royal Family whilst going about your day job!
That is what happened to Roger Cresswell – our oldest serving member of staff and popular member of the Chaplaincy team – when he turned 80 last week.
Roger was working a shift at Hinchingbrooke Hospital during a VIP visit from HRH The Princess Royal.
The Princess Royal was invited to meet staff and find out more about the hospital’s maternity services, in her role as patron of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).
As part of last week's visit and the tour, Roger was presented to meet the Princess Royal, an honour which came as a complete surprise to him on the day.
His special milestone was also marked with a lunch for himself and his wife Julia, arranged by grateful colleagues at the Trust to thank him for all his hard work and dedication.
Roger began working for the Trust in 2018 but had been volunteering for Chaplaincy Services more than a decade before.
He enjoyed a 34-year service in the RAF, working in supply and logistics, and is a regular supporter of Armed Forces Day.
No stranger to marking milestone birthdays in some style; aged 75, Roger fundraised for our Special Care Baby Unit and Adult Critical Care Unit by spending his day off wing walking.
These units are supported by the Chaplaincy, along with the parents, partners, families and friends, when times become difficult, or when, despite the delivery of amazing intensive care and highly professional nursing, a patient is lost.
Roger said: “After 34 years in the RAF and a 13-year career in industry, I trained as a Lay Minister before joining the Hospital Chaplaincy as a volunteer.
"My many rewarding experiences and some divine intervention led me to become one of the chaplains working for Hinchingbrooke Hospital.
"Being there for the patients, their friends and family and for the amazing staff who give so much of themselves to achieve great patient care, is the ultimate privilege - not without its personal costs.”
Pic cap: North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust’s oldest-serving employee, Chaplain Roger Cresswell had the honour of meeting HRH The Princess Royal during her recent visit to Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, introduced by Trust Director of Midwifery, Melissa Davis.