A father who helped train dozens of tugboat captains died just days before his only son also passed away.

Dennis McCarthy, 90, of Gravesend , died of Covid-19 on July 20 after contracting the disease while recovering from an emergency operation at Darent Valley Hospital a few weeks prior.

A week later, on July 27, his son Terry was struck down with pneumonia and died of organ failure aged 67. His death was not thought to be connected with the disease.

The pair are survived by Dennis's daughter and Terry's sister Sharon Freebody and her daughter, who live in Cobham .

She described how it had become harder for the family to communicate during lockdown despite regularly keeping in contact, and that her brother's passing had come as shock.

"It was sudden for me," Sharon said. "We phoned each other but that was it."

Terry had lived in Gravesend since he was six years old and had been living in the same house in Riverside Park for more than 45 years, when he died.

"He had a girlfriend but no one he lived with," she said.

Terry went to Northfleet School for Boys, where he enjoyed athletics and found fame for his 21ft long jump and has trials for Kent.

When he first left school he worked for the General Post Office in London, which was then the state postal and telecoms provider, and he became a competent telephone engineer.

He later moved on to the Central Electricity Generating Board until he was made redundant in the early 80s.

His next career move saw him stay local as he pitched up a toy stall in Gravesend market where he worked alongside colourful characters such as Sid Strong, better known as "Strongy".

It was a role he was taken with, as Sharon describes her brother as a "sociable" person, remarking that "he always had various mates in his garden".

He also had a love for rugby and would often frequent Regan's Bar in Thong Lane which was his local drinking hole.

She added her brother enjoyed taking trips abroad and would travel with his dad for skiing holidays in France, Italy and Austria.

Known to many as Mac, Dennis worked all his life on the River Thames on the tugs.

He started out in London's Wapping docks before doing his National Service in Germany for three years.

Upon his return he married his childhood sweetheart Rosemary and the pair moved from Stepney, east London, to Gravesend together in 1959 with their young family.

He returned to life on the river as chief engineer, first with the Sun and London Tugs, and later Alexandra Towing as it became in 1976.

It was here he would become a well-known figure on the river and counted Gravesend tug captain Alan “Nobby” Clarke, who sadly passed away aged 86 last year , among his peers.

Even after he retired, Sharon said her dad would regularly stay in touch, adding: "He knew a lot of them and spoke to them on the phone."

In his last two years before retiring aged 64, Dennis began teaching the next generation at Hull University.

Sharon recounts how he would often take trips up on a Monday before returning on the Friday just so he could help young seafarers obtain their "seaman's tickets".

In 2018, Dennis lost his wife Rosemary to dementia and he spent his final years living alone.

Sharon received a letter from Rick Pedler on behalf of the London Tug Crews, now operating under Danish company Svitzer, which paid tribute to his "legacy" following his death – and she read it aloud at his funeral.

It read: "I would like to sent my deepest condolences at the loss of Dennis.

"On behalf of the all the Tug Chief Engineers that Dennis trained, he devoted so much of his time and effort into making us what we are today.

"If we are half the engineer that Dennis was, we would all be very happy.

"To think 90% of all the chiefs of today working the tugs at Gravesend and Sheerness are all down to the training given by Dennis, is some legacy."

The letter also alluded to the crews' fondness for a cheeky tipple, with Fridays described as "the best day in class" as students and Dennis frequented the pub on return from "away days" in the capital.

Rick went on to explain in the letter: "I can still remember Dennis saying now 'don't drink too much or the company will tell me off'. We never listened much."

He added: "Dennis will never be forgotten by all the crews still working today and we thank him. Sleep well and sail on brother."

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