Connecting our Communities in 2024
A journey of a lifetime
Connecting our Communities was an exciting relay-style event to mark the RNLI’s 200th anniversary. With Ford as our partner, we transported a special scroll far and wide in an all-electric Ford E-Transit, bringing RNLI communities together for this extraordinary moment in our lifesaving history.
On this scroll is the RNLI’s One Crew Pledge, in which we promise our commitment to saving every one we can, without judgment - staying true to Sir William Hillary’s vision when he founded the charity in 1824.
The scroll’s journey lasted 8 months, from 4 March to 24 October 2024, during which time it travelled over 18,000 miles, visited 292 communities, and was signed by more than 900 RNLI representatives on behalf of their lifesaving community.
Now its journey is complete, the scroll will be displayed in the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset, where our lifeboat crews and lifeguards are trained.
Discover the scroll
The scroll is 7m long and made from bamboo paper.
On the scroll is the RNLI’s One Crew Pledge, in which we proudly pledge our commitment to our mission of saving every one.
The pledge reads:
‘Whoever we are, Wherever we are from,
We are one crew,
Ready to save lives.
We’re powered by passion, talent and kindness,
Like generations of selfless lifesavers before us.
This is our watch.
We lead the way.
Valuing each other, Trusting each other, Depending on one another,
Volunteering to face the storm together.
Knowing that, with courage, nothing is impossible.
That is what has always driven us
to save every one we can.
It's what makes every one of us
a lifesaver.’
Beneath the pledge, printed in seven languages (English, Irish Gaelic, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Manx, and Cornish), it says:
‘Signed in 2024 by representatives of the RNLI’s lifesaving communities, on behalf of all who strive to save every one.’
During its journey, the scroll was kept safe in a bespoke case – made from the same materials used to build and maintain our lifeboats, stations and lifeguard units.
The protective fibreglass casing was crafted by skilled apprentices at the Inshore Lifeboat Centre on the Isle of Wight. They also set the scroll spindle and accessories into the case.
The spindle attached to the scroll was made by the team at the All-weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole. To commemorate our heritage, Technician Boatbuilder David Martin crafted the spindle ends and the case handle using a 19th-century flagpole from Ramsey Lifeboat Station on the Isle of Man. This RNLI flagpole dates back to the early 1890s, when Ramsey's Norbury Boathouse was built.
The wood from this flagpole was also used to create a unique Heritage Collection range of RNLI 200th anniversary gifts. The range, which is available online from the RNLI Shop, comprises an RNLI 200 Limited Paperweight and RNLI 200 Limited Cufflinks. They were handcrafted by Man & Bear, experts in creating luxury accessories using traditional techniques. And what makes them even more special is that only 200 of each were made.
RNLI partner Ford supplied a specially designed all-electric E-Transit van to safely transport the scroll and its custodian, Bicentenary Event Driver Chris Smith, from one RNLI community to the next.
The van, affectionately named Connie by Chris, clocked up over 18,000 miles during its 8-month journey around the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
See a map of the scroll’s journey
Many of you followed the scroll’s journey and saw it being signed at Connecting our Communities events across the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
The scroll started its journey on 4 March 2024 - the RNLI’s 200th anniversary - from Westminster Abbey in London following the RNLI’s Service of Thanksgiving there.
The first signatures before it left Westminster included RNLI President HRH The Duke of Kent, RNLI Chair Janet Legrand, former RNLI Chief Executive Mark Dowie, and the Dean of Westminster Abbey.
Its epic journey ended on 24 October 2024 in Douglas on the Isle of Man, the former home of RNLI founder Sir William Hillary. The final signatures included new RNLI Chief Executive Peter Sparkes and representatives from the RNLI at Douglas.
During its 236-day journey, it travelled over 18,000 miles, visited 292 RNLI communities including lifeboat stations, lifeguard units, fundraising branches, shops and museums, and gathered over 900 signatures - each one proudly commemorating those who have gone before us, celebrating where we are today, and pledging their commitment to our lifesaving future as we enter our third century of saving lives at sea.
