Today, (Wednesday 9 June) His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales visited the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) College based in Poole, Dorset to see where the charity’s extraordinary volunteer crew and lifeguards from around the UK and Ireland are trained.

This May you walked, ran, swam, bounced and sang your way through our Mayday Mile challenge to raise money for our brave lifesavers. You put aside your own personal challenges to take on this new one. You made kind and generous donations. And cheered others on through your sponsorship. Why? Because RNLI lifesavers put out a Mayday call. And being a fellow lifesaver, you answered it. 

A show of strength and bravery by one young lifeguard during a challenging season saves the lives of three young people. 

From beloved institutions to types of cheese, lifeboats can have all sorts of weird and wonderful names. But how does it all work?