Support your local lifeboat in the run up to the RNLI’s 200th birthday

IN 2024, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) will celebrate its 200th birthday and will be celebrating the occasion through the year.

The local RNLI fundraising organisation is the Salisbury, Wilton and District Branch. Most of the money raised by the branch is used to support the nearest lifeboat based at Mudeford at the mouth of the River Avon. In particular, to fund the crew’s training needs.

The branch is run by a small committee of volunteers under the chairmanship of Ray Stedman. Money is raised in three main ways – box collections at specific events in the Salisbury and Wilton area; boxes placed in pubs and shops; and specific fundraising events.

For example, the branch will have a stand at the Downton Cuckoo Fair on Saturday, 29th April and a box collection at Salisbury Racecourse on Thursday, 18th May.

One particular source of local support comes from the local Sea Shanty Group, The Navy Larks, who will be giving a concert in aid of RNLI at Wilton Church on Wednesday,