Call out for Holyhead RNLI lifeboat as naming ceremony celebrations get underway
RNLI volunteers never know when the call for help will come, and at the weekend, it was following the naming of the station’s new D-class lifeboat.
It had been a busy day for the volunteer crew who had earlier in the afternoon seen their new D-class officially dedicated. The lifeboat was named in memory of a couple whose lives were shaped by a love of the coast. The event was a proud day for the station’s volunteers, as their new D-class lifeboat was named Mary & Archie Hooper.
Mary and Archie Hooper, were keen RNLI fundraisers and provided a generous legacy which has funded the new lifeboat. One of the main motivations for wanting to support the charity was witnessing first hand some of the risk visitors undertook on their coast. They watched on with great interest from the home they built at Llandanwg Beach near Harlech in north Wales. They made it their vocation to help save lives at sea and were tireless in visiting caravan sites, raising money for the RNLI and spreading lifesaving safety messages.
The history of their lives together forms the basis of their desire to support the RNLI with this generous legacy.
Notes to Editors
Full details of the naming ceremony and pictures from the event are available to download here: http://rnli.org/NewsCentre/Pages/Memory-of-lifelong-sea-lovers-to-live-on-at-Holyhead-RNLI.aspx
Media Contacts
For further information, please telephone Danielle Rush, RNLI Public Relations Manager in Wales on 01745 585162 or 07786 668829, or Lifeboat Press Officer Ray Steadman on 07867 506939. Images will be available following the event.
Key facts about the RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 238 lifeboat stations, including four along the River Thames and inland lifeboat stations at Loch Ness, Lough Derg, Enniskillen, Carrybridge and Lough Ree. Additionally the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.
The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 140,000 lives. Volunteers make up 95% of the charity, including 4,600 volunteer lifeboat crew members and 3,000 volunteer shore crew. Additionally, tens of thousands of other dedicated volunteers raise funds and awareness, give safety advice, and help in our museums, shops and offices.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 or by email.
The RNLI is a charity registered in England and Wales (209603) and Scotland (SC037736). Charity number 20003326 in the Republic of Ireland