21.04.2026

Mark Norris 1971 - 2026

We have received the sad news that crane veteran Mark Norris has died. He passed away on March 26th at the age of 54.
He leaves behind his wife, Maria, in Sierra Leone, along with the three children, Prince, Margaret and Josh, who have said that they would like to thank everyone who has reached out with support and condolences.

Born in the UK, he began his working life when he joined the Royal Engineers regiment of the British Army in 1987, when he was just 16. He served for more than 10 years as a combat engineer. During his time with the army, he spent time on active duty in the first Gulf War in Iraq and Kuwait and went on to complete tours of duty in Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and Bosnia.

On leaving the army, he became a crane operator and worked for many UK and Irish crane rental companies, including Baldwins, Quigley UK, Kavanagh Crane Hire, Commhoist, Ainscough Crane Hire, Winter Lift, William O’Briens, along with the UK operations of heavy lift and rigging specialists Mammoet, Sarens and ALE. He also worked with Danish company BMS and Earth Stream Global, where he was based in Sierra Leone, and most recently with Sarens in the USA.

During his time in the industry, he went from crane operator to supervisor, technical rep. site manager, eventually taking on the role of operations manager in Houston, Texas, for Sarens. And it seems that wherever he worked, he became a well-known figure who was widely respected.

In 2025, he stepped away from the industry to settle in Sierra Leone, where he threw himself into building a restaurant and bar with the same vigour and intensity he had demonstrated throughout his career in the army and the crane industry. Finally opening the restaurant together with his wife, Maria, in February of this year.

Unfortunately, he carried baggage from his time in the army, and it was these demons that got the better of him and subsequently led to his premature death.

When the funeral / memorial service details are confirmed, we will update this item.