Roger Dennis
It is our sad duty to inform readers of the sudden passing, on the 27th of August, of Rog Dennis, one of the founders of Karkee Web and the driving force behind what it is today.
Rog developed an interest in military accoutrements in his teens and kept that interest throughout his life. He was widely recognised as one of, if not the, leading authority on 20th century British accoutrements and Mills Equipment Company (M.E.Co.) products generally. His broad knowledge in our field was respected by everyone who studies or writes about accoutrements, and his generosity in sharing his knowledge was legendary.
Rog cast a wide net. He had friends, correspondents, and colleagues who shared his interests in literally every corner of the world. His email communications were widespread and prolific, with him often involved in multiple concurrent email exchanges with members of the Karkee Web Research Team (KWRT) as well as fielding queries from the KW readers via our hotmail address. His prolific correspondence led some members of the KWRT to wonder if he ever slept!
On the rare occasions Rog didn’t know the answer to a question from a reader he usually knew where to find the answer from his network of contacts across UK, Europe, North America, South Africa and the Antipodes.
Although Rog's encyclopedic knowledge of accoutrements and the myriad official government documents and lists pertaining to them is well-known within the ranks of militaria collectors, this was just one aspect of his wide range of interests. He brought the same scholarly level of study and research to multiple subjects. Not only military aircraft, ships, gun turrets, bombs, small arms, etc., but history, films, music, hiking and much much more, all received the same rivet-counting and attention to detail that he lavished on everything he turned his attention to. As he was always the first to admit, he had a mind like a sponge.Many of us on the KWRT delighted in occasionally coming up with something Rog didn’t know. For him to award our find with his NFFTD (New Fact For The Day) status always gave a sense of satisfaction.
For us on the KWRT evenings will not be the same without an email or two or more from Rog.
We hope that down the track Rog’s store of unpublished work can be salvaged from his computer, edited & published on KW as a tribute to him.
Rog was the heart and soul of Karkee Web and his passion inspired us all.
From Friends & the KWRT-
The amazing breadth and depth of his knowledge on webbing and accoutrements never ceased to amaze me. He will be sorely missed by fellow collectors worldwide.
Rog has been such a cornerstone of my collecting of accoutrements or as I used to call it web-equipment. I always found his comments amusing and his knowledge of tremendous value.
Roger brought to us, the group, so much knowledge. We can thank him a lot!
I met Rog in the 1990s. At that time, he supported me in my research and helped me a lot in an engaged,friendly way. For me Rog is a perfect example of cooperation.
An OnlineTribute in Roger Vadim's livejournal
Rog's funeral will be on the 2nd of October. Arrangements are being handled by his daughter Alix. If you wish to send condolences to Rog's family directly, Alix can be reached at alix@karkeeweb.com.
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