Africa’s first female navigator of a submarine, naval mariner Gillian Marlouw-Hector, has been hailed as a brave warrior by her bosses at the TS Lanterne sea cadet base.
Thirty-three-year-old Marlouw-Hector lost her life during a sea exercise at Saldanna Bay this week.
Nelson Mandela Bay metro residents including Marlouw-Hector’s former teachers and senior officials at the TS Lanterne Sea Cadets base, paid tribute to her during the wreath-laying ceremony at the South African Sea Cadets Base in Gqeberha this morning.
They say her legacy will forever be remembered.
VIDEO: Former teachers of naval officer Gillian Hector say her legacy will live on
Marlouw-Hector died together with two other naval mariners after experiencing difficulty in the water.
Tributes have been pouring in for the late Lt Commander Gillian Marlouw-Hector at the TS Lanherne Sea Cadet Base in Gqeberha. This is where she started her mariner career back in 2003. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/wIFqb58nQK
— KimmyKool (@KimDanieLs09) September 23, 2023
Lieutenant Gert van Staden says they are finding it hard to deal with her death.
“Gillian joined the Navy base in 2003 as a Cadet, a new entry which is a beginning stage for us, she spent six as a new entry and went to a seaman. In 2007, she reached another rank, which is petty officer, in 2008 she discharged in Matric and in 2009 I took her back. We accepted her to the Navy in 2009, and in 2010 she was also accepted by the Navy. She studied very hard, she reached her dream by becoming the first female on a submarine.”
Meanwhile, the South African Sea Cadet base at Humemood in Gqeberha currently trains 96 sea cadets and some youngsters say they have drawn inspiration from Marlouw-Hector, particularly as a woman.
Seventeen-year-old Analicia Frasenburg who is ranked as an able seaman says one of her main aims is to become captain one day.
Frasenburg says, “I would definitely draw inspiration from her (Marlouw-Hector) for being the first woman in Africa not in South Africa only, to become a submarine, for sailing at a time that is not easy but we are very proud of her achievement.”
