A LLANILAR man has received a prestigious award from Princess Anne in recognition of his 27 years of service in the Merchant Navy.

Mark Morgan was one of the first recipients of the State Award of the Merchant Navy for Meritorious Service when he accepted the medal from the Princess Royal at a private ceremony held at Trinity House, London, on Tuesday, 15 November.

A senior electro-technical officer, Mark retired from the Merchant Navy following a successful and enjoyable career at sea spanning 27 years, and joined the Headquarters Staff of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1998.

Both Mark and his wife Cheryl are Falkland Islands Campaign veterans, with Mark being one of the longest continuously serving Merchant Navy officers seconded to the Ministry of Defence for the Falklands War.

Mark was also honoured for his ground-breaking design work crucial to the development of the RNLI Man Overboard Alerting System.

Mark told the Cambrian News: “I am proud and privileged to receive such a prestigious award.”

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