David McTaggart and Steve Sawyer, circa 1986We had a big party Friday night to mark Steve Sawyer’s departure from Greenpeace after nearly 30 years of service to The Firm. We put an invitation out to the diaspora of Greenpeace staff that Steve has known over the years — and they are legion — and asked them to gather to celebrate not just Steve, but the organisation’s history — the two are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Steve was there at so many beginnings, so many transitions, so many crossroads. He was one of the major forces, second only to David McTaggart, who drove the organisation through its early years. And while McT, rest his soul, will probably always get the top-dog credit, the fact is that some of our most successful work would never have been begun, or would never have succeeded, without Steve’s hand on the wheel. And we could have had a few major disasters if Steve hadn’t known when it was time to take McT’s hand off the wheel.
I always thought of Steve as our Gandalf, our grey pilgrim, wise and cunning and wary — moving mysteriously, turning up at precisely the right time, inspiring and encouraging despairing members of the fellowship, always a step ahead of the enemy, and never one to suffer fools gladly.