11:00pm Thursday 9th July 2009
By Tom King
CANVEY has always been a byword for community spirit, and nobody embodied it more fully than Vi Foulger, who died on her beloved island last week, aged 80.
Her son Gary, also a well-known Canvey figure, sums up the Vi effect when he says: “To hundreds of people on the island, she was known simply as Auntie Vi. She seemed like a well-loved auntie, even though she was no relative.”
Vi’s chief contribution to the people of Canvey stemmed from her training as a St John Ambulance first aider.
The role was more crucial in 1950s and 60s, because of Canvey’s then isolation from the mainland and its distance from full medical facilities.
“If there was an accident, people would often go straight round to Auntie Vi’s,” says Gary. “She patched up thousands of cuts and bruises, but she was also often the first person on the scene for more serious incidents, including, sadly, drownings.”
Vi’s long record as a frontline medical worker earned her a rare honour. St John Ambulance headquarters gave permission for the flag of St John to be draped over her coffin at her funeral, held at the Canvey parish church of St Nicholas, on Monday.
Vi’s name is also recorded in gold leaf on the roll of honour mounted on St John’s Gate, London.
Like so many people who settled on Canvey in the 1950s, Vi came originally from London. She became part of the Canvey landscape as a result of her marriage, in 1951, to Albert Foulger, the Canvey habourmaster.
The couple had five children – Rikki, Linda, Terry, Colin and Gary. Three of them still live on Canvey.
Gary continues the family’s tradition of service by working as a volunteer coastguard. He has also worked hard to save items and buildings connected with Canvey’s history.
“We like to think mum’s influence lives on,” says Gary. “I try to carry it on with my voluntary work. Her motto was the motto of St John, and I carry those words around – ‘Pro utilitate hominum’, the encouragement and promotion of all work of humanity and charity.”
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