Lars Repetto and Eddie Rogers honoured for services to the Tristan community

BEMs for Tristan Lay Ministers in New Year Honours List

Lars Repetto and Eddie Rogers awarded British Empire Medals

Cecil (Lars) Repetto and Edward (Eddie) Rogers were both awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for Services to the Community in Tristan da Cunha in the New Year Honours List published on 28th December 2019.

Lars during a Holy Communion Service
celebrating Harvest Festival in St Mary's Church 2018.
Eddie with St Mary's Church cross during
the 2014 Remembrance Ceremony.

Lars Repetto

Lars Repetto was born on 7th December 1937. In 1962 he was a member of the Tristan Resettlement Survey Party that prepared the village for the return of the Tristan community in 1963 following the October 1961 volcanic eruption on the island which led to the evacuation to the UK.

Lars worked at the fish factory as the accountant for the majority of his working life and also served as an unpaid Tristan Island Councillor from 1973-1976 and 1979-1982.

Lars has also served the community of Tristan da Cunha for 47 years as a voluntary Lay Minister in St Mary's Anglican Church.

Lars is highly regarded within the community and revels in talking about the island’s history. He is known as a friendly, thoughtful and knowledgeable man who is proud to be an islander.

Edward Rogers

Edward Patrick Rogers was born on 6th September 1945. Following the eruption of the volcano in 1961 when the community was evacuated to the UK, Eddie worked on ships of the Union Castle line between Southampton and South Africa.

After his return to Tristan in 1963 Eddie worked in the fish factory as a welder to support the fishermen and the island’s lobster market. He was also a fisherman himself and he remained a loyal employee of the factory until his retirement in 2011.

Eddie also served the community as an unpaid Tristan Island Councillor from 1989 to 1991.

Eddie served the community of Tristan da Cunha in his 47 years of voluntary work as a Lay Minister in St Mary's Anglican Church.

Eddie is well respected by the Island community for his long-standing service to the island and its people.

Commenting on the awards, Tristan Administrator Sean Burns, said:

“Both men have served the Tristan community, through their lay ministry duties (and much more besides) for many years. Both the Anglican and Catholic churches on Tristan are embedded into Island life. The recruitment of full-time vicars and priests has been historically very difficult so the duties have invariably fallen to the lay ministers. The church plays an important part of island life providing much needed support to families in times of need.”