A call is being made to honour one of Margate’s most’ famous’ residents.
Instantly recognisable as a Margate fixture, 88-year-old Maurice Morris has lived his entire life in the town and is a familiar figure to many.
From the 1950s to 1990s Maurice worked in various roles at Dreamland, including as an usher at the cinema.
It is understood he was an extra in sketches for the Marty Feldman Show.
A regular at the Margate carnival and known for delivering local papers in recent years, Maurice is a much loved resident of Dane Valley. In 2017 he was presented a Dane Valley citizen award in a scheme launched by ward councillors.
Thanet resident Tim Knibb has now started a petition calling for Maurice to be made a Freeman of Margate.
On the petition page he says: “The face of Margate for fifty years or more, everyone knows him.
“Visitors from London look for him each time they come down. He has done more for the town than any planner, Executive Officer or councillor.
“I am asking for recognition of his love for Margate. I am asking for him to be made a Freeman of Margate.
“Unfortunately, I realise that perhaps no one knows how to create a Freeman anymore. Maybe this petition will create a worthy recipient of this honour.”
Thanet has bestowed an Honorary Freeman title before. In June 2016, Westgate-on-Sea Town Council conferred Honorary Freemanship on historian Dr Dawn Crouch for her decades of service to the town.
