Mayor brings Rotary cheque to Hunstanton RNLI which family supported for years
Mayor brings Rotary cheque to Hunstanton RNLI which family supported for years
Lifeboats News Release
Andy Bullen, Mayor of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, visited Hunstanton RNLI on 26 October, where his late mother Margaret and other family members were stalwart supporters.
RNLI/Chris Bishop
Mayor King's Lynn and West Norfolk Andy Bullen (front, left) presents a £250 donation from King's Lynn Rotary Club to Hunstanton RNLI
He presented a cheque for £250 from the Rotary Club of King's Lynn, before meeting volunteer crew members to find out more about their lifesaving work.
He was given the donation by the club - of which his late father Geoff was a long-standing member and past president - after he gave a talk on conservation after being invited as guest speaker.
Cllr Bullen juggles the 500-year-old ceremonial role with chairing navigation and harbour authority the King's Lynn Conservancy Board and working as the sales director of a publishing company which produces guidebooks on sea ports.
'The RNLI is absolutely critical on the coast, it's a lifesaver apart from anything else,' he said.
'It's the fourth emergency service after the police, fire and ambulance services.'
Cllr Bullen's family has lengthy connections dating back to the 1980s to Hunstanton RNLI.
His late mother Margaret was president of the Hunstanton and West Norfolk RNLI Guild, his aunt Ann Bullen volunteered in the station souvenir shop and Margaret's husband Geoff founded the much-loved annual sandcastle competition.
'Mum used to come down every Sunday to see the crew,' said Cllr Bullen. 'She always used to bring them Kit Kat bars.'
Margaret, who passed away at the age of 96 in October, 2020, was awarded an MBE in 2007 in recognition of her work for the charity that saves lives at sea.
She also had to keep mum about her exploits working with the code-breakers at top secret Bletchley Park during the Second World War until the cloak was lifted on its work 50 years after the conflict ended in 1995.
Margaret, who joined Bletchley aged just 17, later said in a newspaper interview: 'I don’t think my parents knew what I did.
'They knew I was at Bletchley doing war work. I could have been making bombs for all they knew.'
Editor's Notes
Hunstanton lifeboat station operates a fast inshore lifeboat and a search and rescue hovercraft.
Its volunteer crew covers The Wash, a tidal estuary of some 200 square miles, along with parts of the north Norfolk coast.
The lifesaving work of the station and more than 200 like it would not be possible without those who raise funds or donate to the charity that saves lives at sea.
RNLI Images
Pictures from the presentation and of Margaret Bullen attached.
Please note credits: RNLI/Chris Bishop (presentation picture) and Andy Bullen (pictures of Margaret Bullen).
RNLI Media Contacts
For more information call Chris Bishop, Hunstanton RNLI volunteer Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer on 07584 147219 or the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
Andy Bullen
Margaret Bullen, who was a staunch supporter of the RNLI before she passed away in 2020
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.
