Isle of Wight man to receive MBE for services to RNLI

Glyn, 59, has worked for the RNLI for 20 years and, during that time, has transformed the way it produces and maintains inshore lifeboats.

Each year, Glyn ensures 30 inshore lifeboats are built and 70 are refitted to the highest quality at the ILC on the Isle of Wight. With Paul Johnson, he also set up the RNLI’s first four-year Modern apprenticeship scheme in 1999, ensuring young people were given the opportunity to achieve a skilled on the job qualification, during a time when most companies were leaving the island.

Glyn said: “It was unbelievable to hear that I would be given an MBE. It had never crossed my mind that I would ever get something like it. It’s actually rather bittersweet as my dad, who was a great fan of the royals, died last year. But I know he’d be hugely proud.

“I’m really lucky – I have the best job in the world! Every day I get to work with a great team, building fantastic, high quality boats. The lifeboat crews are out there, risking their lives to save others – without getting paid – so we need to make sure they have the best boats possible.”

Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, Major General Martin White, has described Glyn’s work as ‘outstanding’. He stated: “Not only is the ILC, thanks to Glyn’s enthusiasm and leadership, an integral part of the RNLI Isle of Wight family, both operational and fundraising, but he and his staff play an important ambassadorial and supporting role in many charitable aspects of our life. I strongly support this national honour for Mr Ellis.”

RNLI Chief Executive Paul Boissier said: “I am delighted that Glyn is to receive this very well-deserved honour – he is a natural ambassador for the RNLI with an infectious warmth and passion for his work”.

Notes to editor:

· Since the age of 19, following a car accident, Glyn has been an insulin-dependent diabetic. His determination to achieve despite the difficulties he faces is one of the drivers for his positivity; he is an appointed Diabetes Peer Counsellor and has provided support to many for almost a decade.

· In 2009, he was awarded a certificate of thanks from the RNLI’s Isle of Wight Fundraising guilds.

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity 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 146,000 lives.

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