‘If you put a lot in, you’ll get a lot out of it’

Being part of a lifeboat crew is not a nine to five job – something that RNLI mechanic Dupre Strutt takes in his stride

For RNLI lifesavers, days – and nights – are unpredictable. Crew never know when the pager will go off, or what emergency they’ll be called to. For Dupre Strutt, mechanic at Kirkwall Lifeboat Station in Orkney, it’s a way of life. He grew up with the lifeboat – his father was previously the mechanic – and himself joined the crew at 17 years old. He’s been there ever since, for over 30 years.

Dupre talks about the appeal of being on the crew, how no job is ever the same as the last, and how, when every second counts in a rescue, making sure the lifeboat is ready to go and in tip-top condition is vitally important – a responsibility he shoulders with great pride.

This interview was recorded by photographer Jack Lowe, whose exhibition ‘Women of the RNLI’ will be open at the National Maritime Museum, London, 2 March–1 December 2024, to mark 200 years of the RNLI.

Interview by Jack Lowe of The Lifeboat Station Project