Roger Thompson 11 March 1939 - 22 May 2023

We are very sad to announce the death of Roger Thompson, a longstanding Trustee of the Zambia Society Trust. Roger was a committed and active member of ZST and for many years was responsible for the Netball and Footballs project distributing balls throughout Zambia with an emphasis on the rural areas in the more remote parts of Zambia. For the past six and a half years he was also the editor of News from Zambia, the monthly newsletter for members of the Trust.

Roger was eighty-four and born in Cape Town, South Africa. He lived there for the first five years of his life returning to the UK with his parents in October 1944 sailing on HMS Andes dodging U-boats before arriving in Liverpool.

Roger was educated at Hillside School Reigate where he played in the football team and was captain of the cricket team followed by Haberdashers’ Aske’s School in Cricklewood. He was awarded a General Degree at Edinburgh University. His main subject was history which he continued to love all his life.

He made a career in Personnel Management with a special interest in training. He worked for the Industrial Society, arranging courses in personnel management for overseas students, mainly from Commonwealth countries. In 1975 he was recruited by the Zambian copper mines on a three-year contract to do similar training in Kitwe. His contract was extended, and he and his young family (his wife Sheila and daughters Lorraine and Libby) spent five happy years in Kitwe.

Roger worked at Central Training Services in Kitwe and liaised with the Divisional Training Officers in the various divisions (Chingola, Mufilira, Luanshya, Konkola) to give advice about various areas of personnel management. He also made regular visits to the President’s Citizenship College near Kabwe and held sessions at Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation in Kitwe.

Sheila as a medical secretary was also able to carry out training giving help to the secretaries at the mine hospitals, mainly in the field of vocabulary, shorthand practice of medical terminology and general secretarial practice in the medical environment.

Returning to the UK in 1980 after the death of his father he joined the London office of Zambia Appointments Limited overseeing the short-term placements of Zambian employees who needed training in various skills and students who required specialist training in the UK and America. He was responsible for placing the students in suitable colleges for their required courses and visiting them and their tutors regularly.

He continued this work until his retirement in 1999, after which he was asked to join the Zambia Society Trust; his interest was the Footballs and Netballs project, sending balls to schools in Zambia where the children had very little in the way of equipment. He took over as editor of News from Zambia for six and a half years, ably helped by Sheila, while continuing to oversee the Footballs and Netballs Project.

After retirement he took up Spanish and playing the piano more and became involved with St. Mary’s Church Bexley being a Churchwarden for six years.  He also started supporting Charlton Athletic through Sheila’s links with the medical personnel at the club.

He is survived by Sheila, his daughters and four grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by all the Trustees and members of the Trust.