{"id":34980,"date":"2024-03-01T08:45:12","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T07:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/d7148f25-a39d-4519-864e-210f1e5460b3"},"modified":"2024-03-01T09:39:22","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T08:39:22","slug":"rnli-12-incredible-tales-from-the-royal-national-lifeboat-institutions-200-year-history","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/rnli-12-incredible-tales-from-the-royal-national-lifeboat-institutions-200-year-history\/","title":{"rendered":"RNLI: 12 incredible tales from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s 200-year history\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Discover some of the most amazing moments in the RNLI’s 200-year history, including the unusual gifts offered to the charity (some gold teeth and a pig) and a record-breaking rescue that saved 456 lives. <\/p>

By countryfile\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 01 March 2024 at 07:45 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has been saving lives at sea since it was founded in 1824 and, since then, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have rescued over 144,000 people.\u00a0<\/p>

From triumphs to tragedies; from oar-powered vessels to the technology-packed boats used today; from introducing the first lifeboats on the River Thames to rolling-out a UK beach lifeguard service; from running the UK\u2019s biggest ever drowning prevention campaign to working with others to save lives overseas \u2013 the RNLI has a remarkable 200-year story.\u00a0<\/p>

Today, the charity operates 238 lifeboat stations and has seasonal lifeguards on over 240 beaches<\/a> around the UK and Ireland. It designs and builds its own lifeboats and runs domestic and international water safety programmes.<\/p>

While developments over the course of 200 years have changed how the charity saves lives, some things remain the same. Volunteers have given time and commitment\u00a0over the past two centuries, as they continue to do today. And charitable donations still power the RNLI<\/a>\u2019s lifesaving.<\/p>

Learn more about the RNLI<\/strong><\/p>

RNLI lifeboats launched 1,808 times and saved 5,332 lives at sea during the First World War<\/a><\/li>
Dogs, cats and even a snake rescued by British lifeboats<\/a><\/li>
3 gruelling fitness tests all RNLI lifeguards must complete<\/a><\/li>
Watch Saving Lives at Sea<\/em><\/a><\/li><\/ul>Lowestoft Shannon class lifeboat Patsy Knight 13-05<\/em> in rough seas during the ‘Beast from the East’ storm of 2018\/Credit: Nigel Millard, RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
12 incredible facts about the RNLI <\/h2>
Origins of the RNLI<\/h3>
Sir William Hillary\u2019s vision for a service dedicated to saving lives at sea became a reality in Bishopsgate\u2019s City of London Tavern on 4 March 1824.<\/p>
Living on the Isle of Man<\/a>, Hillary witnessed dozens of shipwrecks and helped save many lives. At that time, there was an average of 1,800 shipwrecks a year around our coasts. Rescue services existed in some places, but the danger of shipwreck was an accepted way of life at sea. Hillary wanted to take action.<\/p>
In February 1823, he appealed for the formation of a National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck. He contacted the Navy, ministers and prominent citizens but did not have the desired result. He then approached philanthropic members of society \u2013 and this time, with success.\u00a0Over 30 gentlemen put their names to the fledgling charity at the inaugural public meeting in the City of London Tavern on 4 March 1824.\u00a0<\/p>
These resolutions passed at that meeting still stand as part of the RNLI\u2019s charter almost 200 years later.<\/p>
$\"RNLI$
Sir William Hillary\u2019s vision for a service dedicated to saving lives at sea became a reality in Bishopsgate\u2019s City of London Tavern on 4 March 1824 \u2013 the resolutions passed at that meeting still stand as part of the RNLI\u2019s charter almost 200 years later\/Credit: Nigel Millard, RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The cork lifejacket<\/h3>
The sole survivor of the Whitby lifeboat disaster in 1861 was the only one wearing a new cork lifejacket.\u00a0<\/p>
On 9 February 1861, a storm wrecked more than 200 ships on the east coast. Whitby lifeboat crew launched five times to rescue stricken vessels, but on their sixth launch, tragedy struck. A freak wave capsized the lifeboat. All but one of the crew were lost. The sole survivor was Henry Freeman, who survived because he was wearing a new design of cork lifejacket. After this event, the cork lifejacket became more widely adopted by lifeboat crews.\u00a0<\/p>
Henry was awarded an RNLI Silver Medal for the courage he displayed that day, and later became the\u00a0Whitby Coxswain for more than 20 years, helping to save over 300 lives in that time.\u00a0<\/p>
Britain’s worst storms: from 1607 to 2023<\/a><\/li>
Britain’s weirdest weather phenomena<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
$\"Portrait$
Portrait of Whitby coxswain Henry Freeman wearing a cork lifejacket\/Credit: RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Lifeboat Saturday<\/h3>
The first recorded street fundraising collection was held in aid of the RNLI in Manchester in 1891.<\/p>
On 9 December 1886, 27 lifeboat crew members from Southport and St Annes lost their lives while trying to rescue the crew of the\u00a0Mexico<\/em>. A public appeal was launched, driven local man Charles Macara. An 1891 appeal raised \u00a310,000 in two weeks. On 1 October, Charles and his wife Marion organised the first Lifeboat Saturday. Bands, floats and lifeboats paraded through the streets of Manchester, followed by volunteers collecting money. More than \u00a35,000 was taken on the day, which was the first recorded example of a charity street collection.<\/p>
Marion Macara formed a Ladies\u2019 Guild to help organise the street collection and, within 10 years, more than 50 Ladies\u2019 Guilds had sprung up around Britain and Ireland.\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Old$
The first Lifeboat Saturday in Manchester, organised by Charles and Marion Macara\/Credit: RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The\u00a0Suevic<\/em>\u00a0rescue<\/h3>
The\u00a0Suevic<\/em>\u00a0rescue in 1907 holds the record for the largest number of people saved in a single operation in RNLI history.<\/p>
The\u00a0Suevic<\/em>\u00a0left Australia on 2 February 1907, bound for Liverpool. She carried over 400 passengers and crew, as well as 12,000 tons of cargo. On 17 March, the ship approached Cornwall\u2019s hazardous Lizard coastline in a violent gale with rough seas and a dense fog and ran aground against a reef.\u00a0<\/p>
Sixty volunteer crew members from Cadgwith<\/a>, Coverack, The Lizard\u00a0and Porthleven rowed back and forth for 16 hours to rescue those aboard.<\/p>
Their courage saved 456 lives, including 70 babies, and not a single life was lost. Six of the rescuers, including two\u00a0Suevic<\/em>\u00a0crew members, were awarded Silver Medals by the RNLI.<\/p>
Walk: Lizard Point to Mullion Cove, Cornwall<\/a><\/li>
Walk: Cadgwith to Lizard Point, Cornwall<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
$\"Black$
White Star Liner S.S Suevic<\/em>l\/Credit: RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Rohilla<\/em> wreck<\/h3>
Titanic<\/em>\u00a0survivor Mary Roberts was rescued by the RNLI in 1914, from the wrecked hospital ship\u00a0Rohilla<\/em>.<\/p>
On 30 October 1914, over 140 people (including Mary Roberts, who had survived the sinking of the Titanic<\/em>\u00a0in 1912) were saved when the hospital steamship\u00a0Rohilla<\/em>\u00a0was wrecked. The ship had been en route to Dunkirk to help wounded soldiers but was broken up when it ran aground on rocks near Whitby.\u00a0<\/p>
Five lifeboats, including from Upgang, Teesmouth, Scarborough and two from Whitby, battled terrible seas to reach the ship.\u00a0<\/p>
A motor lifeboat (the first of its kind) from Tynemouth, took the last 50 people on board. In total, 144 people were saved by the crews, who worked for over 50 hours in atrocious conditions.<\/p>
$\"The$
The hospital ship Rohilla<\/em> breaking up and sinking off the coast of Whitby, 30\/10-1\/11 1914\/Credit: RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The RNLI’s first female crew member<\/h3>
Elizabeth Hostvedt, an 18-year-old Norwegian student, became the first female crew member.\u00a0<\/p>
Elizabeth was a student at Atlantic College, an international boarding school in Llantwit Major. The college\u2019s staff and students manned the RNLI lifeboat station within its grounds.<\/p>
Her request to join the crew was met with some resistance, as there were doubts over whether a woman would have the strength to pull heavy bodies from the water, and the stamina required to crew the lifeboat in strong gales.<\/p>
A special case was made for Elizabeth; on the condition that she pass the full medical test required for membership and satisfy she had the \u2018physique to stand up to an arduous service\u2019. Elizabeth met these requirements and, in 1969, became the first trained female crew member at the RNLI.<\/p>
$\"Picture$
Picture showing students at Atlantic College being trained to use the lifeboats\/Credit: RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
RNLI Medals for Gallantry<\/h3>
The RNLI rewards rescues of special merit with Medals for Gallantry in Bronze, Silver or Gold.<\/p>
The most recent Gold Medal awarded by the RNLI went to coxswain\/mechanic Peter Hewitt Clark of Lerwick for his part in the rescue of the crew of the\u00a0Green Lily<\/em>\u00a0in 1997.\u00a0<\/p>
Aileen Jones from Porthcawl became the first female crew member to be awarded a Medal (Bronze) in 2005 for rescuing the crew of the fishing vessel\u00a0Gower Pride.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>
Brian Bevan became the first crew member to be awarded the Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals for Gallantry in the same year, in 1979.<\/p>
Rod MacDonald was the first RNLI lifeguard medallist, being awarded the Bronze Medal in 2003 for helping to save the life of a bodyboarder in Newquay.\u00a0<\/p>
How to identify traditional fishing boats<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
$\"Aileen$
Aileen Jones with Bronze medal for gallantry, 2005\/Credit: Derek King, RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The busiest RNLI station is in London<\/h3>
The RNLI\u2019s busiest station is not on the coast \u2013 it\u2019s in central London.<\/p>
In 2002, the RNLI started operating lifeboats from four stations on the River Thames \u2013 Chiswick, Gravesend, Teddington and Tower. All except Teddington are crewed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by full-time helms and volunteers. Tower lifeboat station is the RNLI\u2019s busiest station.\u00a0<\/p>
The introduction of a lifeboat service on the River Thames came as a result of the inquiry into the Marchioness disaster of 1989, when party boat\u00a0Marchioness<\/em>\u00a0collided with dredger\u00a0Bowbelle<\/em>\u00a0and sank, resulting in 51 lives lost.<\/p>
$\"Three$ Three crew on board Tower E-class lifeboat Hurley Burley E-07<\/em>, heading out for a training exercise on the ThamesCredit: Harrison Bates, RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Curious RNLI finds<\/h3>
Gold teeth and two vintage Ferraris are among the unusual gifts left to the RNLI in Wills.<\/p>
6 in 10 lifeboat launches are made possible thanks to supporters leaving a gift to the RNLI in their Will. In 2022, 64% of the charity\u2019s income was from legacies. While the gifts are often monetary, some of the more unusual items which have been gifted to the charity include some gold teeth, a pig farm, a 100-year-old bottle of Cognac and two vintage Ferraris.\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Hastings$
Hastings crew with their new Shannon Class lifeboat funded by the legacy of Richard Colton through the sale of his collection of classic Ferrari cars\/Credit: KT Bruce RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Valiant volunteers<\/h3>
Only 1 in 10 RNLI lifeboat crew volunteers has a professional maritime occupation.<\/p>
97% of the RNLI\u2019s frontline lifesavers are volunteers \u2013 they have all kinds of backgrounds and jobs. They carry pagers which alert them when they are needed to respond to an emergency at sea. As only 10% of lifeboat crew volunteers have a professional maritime occupation, training is essential. The RNLI College in Poole, Dorset, was opened in 2004 and is the home of RNLI training, where crews learn skills including boathandling, navigation, first aid and sea survival.\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Landscape$
The RNLI College in Poole taken from Holes Bay\/Credit: Harrison Bates, RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Boat builders<\/h3>
The RNLI manufactures its own all-weather lifeboats<\/p>
The opening of the RNLI\u2019s All-weather Lifeboat Centre in 2015 brought the construction, repair and maintenance of the charity\u2019s all-weather lifeboats under one roof for the first time in its history.<\/p>
The facility has two vast boathalls containing flexible bays, a covered courtyard area and a total workshop floor space of 5,000m\u00b2. As well as building the latest class of all-weather lifeboat \u2013 the Shannon class \u2013 it is also used to\u00a0repair and maintain the RNLI\u2019s entire all-weather lifeboat fleet.<\/p>
$\"Exterior$
Exterior shot of the All-Weather Lifeboat Centre (ALC) in Poole\/Credit: Nathan Williams, RNLI<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Worldwide trainers<\/h3>
Every other minute, someone in the world drowns. The RNLI\u2019s international work aims to tackle this problem.\u00a0<\/p>
Drowning claims an estimated 235,000 lives worldwide every year, many of them children. The RNLI is working with global leaders, public health organisations and at-risk communities to help make drowning prevention a priority worldwide and reduce this staggering loss of life.\u00a0<\/p>
The RNLI works with overseas partners to deliver a range of lifesaving interventions including: swim-survival and water safety programmes; lifeguard training; maritime search and rescue training; conducting research, and helping develop sustainable lifesaving equipment to help in countries where drowning is a major risk.<\/p>
$\"International$
International lifeguard training programme taking place in Bangladesh\/Credit: Mike Lavis<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Throughout 2024, the charity will be running events and activities to remember its 200-year history, celebrate the lifesaving service it is today, and inspire future lifesavers and supporters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>
To find out more about the RNLI in the charity\u2019s 200^{th<\/sup>\u00a0year, visit RNLI.org\/200<\/a><\/p>}
Words: Laura Haslam, RNLI<\/em> | Main image: Lowestoft Shannon class lifeboat Patsy Knight 13-05 in rough seas during the stom know as the ‘Beast from the East’\/Credit: Nigel Millard, RNLI<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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12 incredible facts about the RNLI <\/h2>