Falmouth RNLI welcomes HRH The Duke of Kent

The Duke was transported on the all-weather lifeboat to the station and met with volunteers to celebrate the station’s 150th anniversary and to officially launch their fundraising appeal.

The Duke of Kent is the president of the RNLI. Sunny skies and calm waters were the order of the day, as volunteers on the all-weather lifeboat Richard Cox Scott met the Duke and transported him the short distance to the lifeboat pontoon.

He then met members of the coastguard before going inside the RNLI boathouse to meet approximately 30 operational and fundraising volunteers. He spent time talking to representatives and finding out more about their fundraising efforts. He also got the chance to look at historic mementos of the station before unveiling a plaque to commemorate the anniversary and officially launch the £100,000 fundraising appeal.

Falmouth RNLI was established in 1867 in response to a number of shipwrecks in the Falmouth area. Its first lifeboat was a double ended 33 foot, 10 oared, self-righting, pulling and sailing lifeboat built of mahogany. It was funded by the people of Gloucester and so called The City of Gloucester, crewed entirely by volunteers whose brand new lifeboat station was then a wooden building in Falmouth Docks.

Now in 2017, Falmouth RNLI has launched an appeal to raise £100,000 towards the total cost of alterations and upgrades to the current station, based just a quarter of a mile away from the original site, between Falmouth Docks and Pendennis Marina. These improvements are needed to ensure the station is ready to receive the new, bigger and faster Atlantic 85 lifeboat in two years time. The new lifeboat will replace the current Atlantic 75 lifeboat Eve Pank when she reaches the end of her operational life, and will work alongside the station’s all-weather Severn Class lifeboat Richard Cox Scott.

HRH the Duke of Kent has been president of the RNLI since 1969. He succeeded both his parents as president of the charity.

Notes to editors

• Please find attached a selection of images of the Duke of Kent’s visit to Falmouth RNLI. Credit Simon Culliford, RNLI.

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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 over 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 100 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK. 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 137,000 lives. The RNLI is a charity registered in England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, Irish Charity number 2678.

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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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For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

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Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.