Welcome
In one of my first appointments as the new Chief Executive of the RNLI, I was humbled to attend a naming ceremony at St Peter Port Lifeboat Station in Guernsey. The new Atlantic 85 lifeboat was named in memory of Harold Hobbs, who was killed by enemy action while serving on the Guernsey lifeboat in June 1940.
Harold was the great uncle of Jason Hobbs who currently serves as the Guernsey lifeboat operations manager. Speaking with Jason and Harold’s son Tony, highlighted to me the selfless dedication families give to saving lives at sea.
Lifesaving in some of our island communities like Guernsey has been captured beautifully in a new set of stamps to commemorate our 200th anniversary. You can find out more about the collections on page 6.
It is a great privilege to lead the charity into our third century of lifesaving. Thank you for being such an important part of the RNLI family.
Best wishes
Peter Sparkes RNLI Chief Executive
Royal Garden Party
HRH The Princess Royal presented Penlee Coxswain Patch Harvey with a Silver Medal for Gallantry in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in May. ‘It has been an incredible honour,’ says Patch, who paid tribute to his crew and their families. ‘Our partners are in the background, supporting everything we do.’
Patch and his crew helped to save eight sailors in hurricane-force winds off Porthleven in October 2022.
Yes to Gift Aid
Thank you! If you are in the UK and you have chosen to Gift Aid your donations, you contributed to the amazing £6.5M we reclaimed in 2023. That’s enough to train around 4,600 lifeboat crew members for a whole year. There are two easy ways to say yes to Gift Aid: online at RNLI.org/YourTick or call 0300 300 9990 (weekdays, 8am–6pm).
‘With
at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Photo: christaylorphoto.co.uk
WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT PEOPLE LIKE YOU: How would you like to hear from us?
We’re so grateful for the support you have shown for the RNLI –it all helps save lives. But if you would rather not hear from us, or would like to change how we contact you, please get in touch. Just call 0300 300 9918 (from the UK), 01 511 9837 (from Ireland), or +44 1202 663234 (from any other country) on weekdays, 8am–6pm, go to RNLI.org/preferences or write to our Supporter Experience Team, RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, BH15 1HZ.
Cover photo:
Courage’ – a specially bred rose marking the 200th anniversary of the RNLI, which featured
RNLI TO THE RESCUE
Sinking fast
DOUGLAS | 7 FEBRUARY 2024
When a 15m fishing vessel reported taking on water 4 miles offshore, the crew of the Douglas all-weather lifeboat went to its aid. They put a salvage pump onboard to mitigate the flooding, before connecting a tow rope. But about 10 minutes into the tow and with the water level still rising, the decision was made to abandon ship and board the lifeboat.
Capsized dinghy
WHITSTABLE | 12 APRIL 2024
Whitstable’s Atlantic 85 lifeboat volunteers rescued a sailor who they found hanging on to the rigging of his 4m dinghy. The boat capsized after its rudder came off. Luckily, the sailor was no worse for his ordeal after the crew wrapped him in a thermal blanket for the short journey home. They recovered his boat and they even located his missing rudder.
Run aground
HUNSTANTON | 23 JUNE 2024
The crew of an RNLI hovercraft – one of only four on service around the UK coast – rescued three teenagers after they were cut off by the tide in Norfolk. The craft, which can operate in shallow water and fly across mud and sand, made good progress on a flooding tide and located the three young men and took them to safety.
The Severn class all-weather lifeboat provides excellent vantage points for the crew during a search and rescue
Needles in a haystack
The search area widens but the targets are small. As the RNLI’s largest allweather lifeboat enters the fray, will the crew find a paddleboarding father and his son before it’s too late?
No sooner had Yarmouth RNLI Mechanic Richard Pimm arrived home from work, than his crew pager went off. He ditched his plans for the evening and hurried back to the station. It took just 16 minutes for Richard and his crew mates to launch Yarmouth’s Severn class lifeboat Eric and Susan Hiscock (Wanderer), and they were soon powering through choppy seas and a fresh offshore breeze.
Bittersweet moment
The crews of six other lifeboats had searched skilfully and systematically throughout the afternoon, accompanied by helicopters from HM Coastguard and the National Police Air Service, and land-based rescue teams, but to no avail. As the day wore on, things were becoming ever more desperate. By now, the paddleboarders had been missing for several hours and the light was beginning to fade.
Just a few minutes into their search the Yarmouth crew spotted an object in the water. Initially they thought it was a buoy, but through binoculars they could see that it was a person clinging on to a paddleboard.
‘We instantly thought: “Oh my god, we’ve found them!” It was an amazing feeling,’ says Richard. That was closely followed by the realisation they’d found just one paddleboarder, not two.
Voice on the radio
‘We didn’t know it was a father and his 16-year-old son, so finding that out was a gut-punch,’ says Richard. ‘You instantly worry because if the dad is this far out, where is his son? But we had to concentrate on the dad. He’d been out there for hours in just a buoyancy aid and swimming
‘ It’s a lot harder to search for someone in the water in the dark’
trunks, and he needed urgent medical care. He started to cramp up. His body temperature was going down and he stoppedmaking sense.’
The crew put the man on oxygen and wrapped him in blankets to keep him warm while preparations were made to airlift him to hospital. But with the man in safe hands, the priority now immediately switched to finding his son.
About 10 minutes after darkness fell, came the news that everyone had been hoping for. A voice on the radio – the boy was safe.
‘I started to worry because I saw the sun set and thought if they don’t find me, how will I survive?’
He’d been found on a beach 5 miles away. ‘I think I could hear all the crews and all the teams breathe a sigh of relief,’ says Richard. ‘It was very emotional.’ ■
Mechanic Richard Pimm
Never too late to celebrate
The RNLI 200 celebrations continue and there’s still time to get involved. Here are seven ways to celebrate being part of the RNLI family in this special year.
1
RNLI stamp collections
Help spread the word with four different RNLI stamp collections commemorating 200 years of saving lives at sea in Ireland, the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. Features striking and iconic lifesaving images of your island lifesaving communities, past and present.
2
3
Anniversary Balls
EXMOUTH | 27 SEPTEMBER
WESTON-SUPER-MARE | 28 SEPTEMBER
RNLI 200 celebrations in the south west continue with two Anniversary Balls in Exmouth on 27 September and Weston-super-Mare on 28 September.
Making Waves
ABERTAWE (SWANSEA) | UNTIL 16 MARCH 2025
An RNLI Cymru 200 exhibition. Explore the RNLI’s history in Wales, from boatmaking innovation and lifesaving technology to the stories of stations past and present.
4
Coast to Cobbles
SILLOTH TO SALFORD QUAYS, MANCHESTER
| 28 SEPTEMBER TO 12 OCTOBER
A celebration of the first Lifeboat Saturday of 1891. A lifeboat will begin its journey in Silloth on 28 September 2024 and, travelling by sea, river and canal, will arrive in Salford Quays, Manchester on 12 October.
5
RNLI 200 Voices
Listen to real stories of kindness, courage and pride – from Buckie on the Moray Firth to Achill Island in Co Mayo and Dover on the English Channel – as told by supporters, volunteers and those they rescued. Listen at RNLI.org/200voices.
6
Facing the Waves
WHITBY AND NORTH EAST | 20 SEPTEMBER TO 13 OCTOBER
A musical about the RNLI from award-winning West End composer Alastair Collingwood. Touring Whitby and the north east of England from 20 September 2024 to 13 October.
7
‘With Courage’ rose
NORWICH | CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW
A commemorative rose called ‘RNLI 200th With Courage’ has been bred by Norwich grower Peter Beales. Unveiled at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, this gold medal winning rose marks 200 years of RNLI lifesaving at sea. You can pre-order your bare root rose (for November 2025 delivery) from Peter Beales Roses. ■
Photos: Dogwood Productions, Iolo Penri Jones, RNLI/(Archie Connolly, Chris Taylor)
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO SOMETHING AMAZING?
BE A FACE-TO-FACE FUNDRAISER
GOOD PAY | EXCITING LOCATIONS | SKILLS FOR LIFE
There’s no job quite like an RNLI face-to-face fundraiser, and no two days the same. You’ll get out and about, learn new skills and make new friends. Every day, you’ll be inspired by the people you meet and the wonderful stories they share about what the RNLI means to them.
Our Face-to-Face Team is recruiting. As a fundraiser you’ll help us reach thousands of people every year, sharing safety messages and encouraging new supporters across the UK and Ireland to sign up and donate vital funds to support our lifesaving service.
Knowing that we are helping to keep people safe and raising funds to keep the lifeboats afloat gives me an immense amount of pride and satisfaction
Gill McIlmoyle, Face-to-Face Team, Ireland
If you are interested in becoming a face-to-face fundraiser – or you know someone who is – find out more at RNLI.org/F2F or scan the QR code
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a charity registered in England and Wales (209603), Scotland (SC037736), the Republic of Ireland (CHY 2678 and 20003326), the Bailiwick of Jersey (14), the Isle of Man (1308 and 006329F), the Bailiwick of Guernsey and Alderney, of West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1HZ
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