RNLI celebrates

RIVER THAMES LIFEBOAT STATIONS Celebrates 20 years

By David Clarke, former lifeboat crew member at Chiswick station

This year Chiswick RNLI and the other three Thames lifeboat stations celebrate 20 years of search and rescue on the tidal river. The stations at Chiswick and Tower Bridge are now the busiest lifeboat stations in the whole of the UK and Ireland, but it took a major disaster for the need for an emergency service on the river to be realised. The judge in the inquiry into the tragic sinking of the Marchioness where 51 people drowned, recommended that the tidal Thames needed a dedicated search and rescue service. The RNLI stepped in and established four lifeboat stations which became operational on 2 January 2002. Three of these, including Chiswick, have crew on standby 24/7. No one anticipated how busy the Thames stations would be. Altogether 4,308 people have been rescued and 622 lives saved. Alongside the operational side Chiswick RNLI reaches out to the community with education and fund-raising volunteers. Thousands of children have learnt about the RNLI from school visits and visits to the station where the duty crew demonstrate the capabilities of their craft. A fund-raising comedy night at the George IV is now an annual event (with Covid exception in 2021). This year it is on Tuesday 15th March at Headliners Comedy Club in the Boston Room of George IV, 185 Chiswick High Rd. (Tickets on Eventbrite). We also have a stall at the Chiswick House Dog Show each September. Many local businesses have supported the comedy nights and regular talks.

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DRAMATIC RESCUES ON THE THAMES

There are many memorable and many tragic incidents from the last 20 years. Some that stand out: The rescue of 60 Boat Race spectators cut off by the tide during the 2015 race, broadcast on BBC news. A protestor who stopped the 2012 boat race just by the lifeboat station and twenty minutes later advanced first aid of a collapsed bowman on the Oxford boat. The recovery of mother and baby from the water in Isleworth in 2008. Revival of collapsed veteran rower with no pulse in 2009. Whale incidents in 2006 and 2021. The rescue of 50 racing rowers whose boats sank during one stormy weekend in 2007. The recovery of broken-down passenger vessel with 122 passengers in 2013. Chiswick RNLI station manager Wayne Bellamy was involved in setting up the RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames in 2001 and has been running the station ever since. He commented: “Our contribution at Chiswick with 179 lives saved and 1,828 people rescued shows that the upper tideway is not the quieter stretch some thought it would be; though not really surprising if you see our stretch of river as equivalent to 25 miles of busy coastline with several million people living close by. “Chiswick lifeboat station is one of three which has a duty crew of four on standby 24/7 with a launch time of 90 seconds and arrival on scene within 15 minutes, though the typical time is usually much less than this. This is only possible with the dedication of full-time crew and a panel of over 60 volunteers working 12-hour shifts. “When people see the scale of life saving activity of the Thames lifeboats people are often surprised to hear the RNLI is entirely funded by public donations; we are very grateful for the local and national support that makes it all possible.” Since The RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames started in 2002, Chiswick Lifeboat has attended more than 4,000 incidents and rescued more than 1,800 people. David Clarke is a volunteer and former crew member at Chiswick Lifeboat Station.