Tickets to hear Michael Buerk talk at Chalke Valley History Festival go on sale

The festival, which runs from 26 June – 3 July, is a celebration of British history with talks, displays and re-enactments and will be held at Church Bottom, Broad Chalke, between Salisbury and Shaftesbury. Tickets for the talk scheduled for 5pm on Friday 30 June, will go on sale this week (26 April) via the Festival’s website priced at £13.

Michael will tell how 77 years ago, two volunteer lifeboat crews and 19 RNLI lifeboats joined an armada of little ships for one of the Second World War’s greatest rescues.

Michael Buerk, says: ‘I am a passionate supporter of the RNLI. The charity provides a professional and reliable rescue service, and the fact that this is delivered by volunteers is great.

'I am honoured to be part of the Chalke Valley History Festival, it’s an enchanting event that appeals to all ages, and I am looking forward to sharing the part RNLI volunteers played in this pivotal moment during the Second World War. It’s such a tale of courage and determination, it’s guaranteed to inspire and move festival goers.’

In 1940 the British Navy attempted an audacious wartime operation: the evacuation of 340,000 troops under fire from the beaches of northern France. The ‘miracle of Dunkirk’ as it became known, would change the course of the Second World War - and challenge the lifeboats of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to tackle a very different kind of rescue.

For more information on the RNLI’s involvement with the Chalke Valley History festival, visit the website www.cvhf.org.uk

Notes to editors

• The lecture takes place at 5pm on Friday 30 June and tickets will be available from : www.cvhf.org.uk
• Please find an image of Eastbourne’s RNLI lifeboat Jane Holland showing the damage she sustained during the Dunkirk evacuation in June 1940. Credit RNLI
• Please find attached an image of broadcaster Michael Buerk, credit BBC

RNLI media contacts

For more information please contact Amy Caldwell, RNLI Public Relations Manager at amy_caldwell@rnli.org.uk or 07920 818 807

RNLI online

For more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI Press Centre www.rnli.org.uk/press

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 over 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 142,700 lives.

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 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or or by email.