Captain Cecil “Cess” Smylie, former manager at the Fairdeal Group and head of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, died on 7 February in his home in Comrie, Scotland, aged 83.
“‘Big man, big loss’ is a trite and inadequate description of the loss of Cess,” tanker operator Fairdeal said in a statement announcing the death of Smylie, who was managing director of its London affiliate.
Smylie, who “loved all things to do with the sea”, began his career in the early 1950s by joining P&O as a cadet.
He obtained his masters certificate in 1963 and reached the rank of deputy captain on the 41,000-gt passengership SS Oriana (built 1969) and of staff captain on the 45,700-gt SS Canberra (built 1961).
In 1969, he came ashore to work as general manager with several shipping firms in North Africa and the Middle East.
During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and the first Iraq war in the early 1990s, Smylie provided logistics services to naval and merchant shipping, which earned him a US Navy commendation for meritorious service.
In 1994, Smylie returned to London to take up the post of managing director at Fairdeal International (London).
He later became master of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, a City of London livery company whose members hail from the merchant and royal navies. He was also a founding trustee of the Wellington Trust, which runs the HQS Wellington that serves as the company's headquarters.
“His loss will be felt by all that knew him as a true gentleman, with his great sense of humour and joie de vivre, coupled with a shrewd business sense — all too rare a combination today,” Fairdeal said.
