Official naming of RNLI Amble’s new Shannon Class Lifeboat
Saturday 27 May 2017 will be remembered by many in Northumberland as the day RNLI Amble’s new Shannon Class lifeboat was officially named Elizabeth and Leonard.
The volunteers at RNLI Amble took delivery of the 2-million-pound state of the art Shannon Class lifeboat back in November 2016 after the late Mrs Elizabeth Foley Brumfield of Hull left a generous legacy to the RNLI. Elizabeth was a lifelong supporter of the RNLI and It was her wish that this donation be used towards the purchase of an all-weather class lifeboat in memory of her and her late husband, Leonard. In addition, two years of hard fund raising of more than £200,000 from the local and wider community was undertaken by the stations magnificent fund raising team led by Katrina Cassidy and RNLI Community Fundraising Manager Gill King.
Since her introduction into service, Amble’s new lifeboat has been used extensively for training and on several operational service calls rescues this year. The official naming ceremony took place at RNLI Amble station and hundreds of people gathered on the towns Radcliffe Quay today to witness this historic occasion with great pride and enthusiasm. Many in the crowd were the family and close friends of the late Mrs Elizabeth Foley Brumfield.
The ceremony started at 4 pm with the National Anthem played by the Ellington Colliery Band. John Young the chairman of RNLI Amble then took to the stage and officially opened the event. John started by informing the gathered crowds that the RNLI flag was at flown at half-mast today in memory of those involved in the tragic events in Manchester this week and of former RNLI volunteers from Amble sadly no longer with us.
Dianne Loveridge the God-daughter and the donor representative then formally handed over the Shannon class lifeboat 1316 to the RNLI. Diane said that the donor Elizabeth would have loved to have attended the event today, also that she would have been amazed and excited of how far advanced the new Shannon Class lifeboat was in terms of technology, power and efficiency. Robbie Warrington, RNLI head of lifesaving support gratefully accepted the lifeboat from Diane and thanked the generosity of the donor and community for their contributions to this wonderful lifeboat. The lifeboat was then handed over to RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager John Wingfield, who accepted it with great pride and pleasure on behalf of Amble Lifeboat Station. John expressed the stations gratitude to the donor, her family, friends and to the many in the community and fundraisers that made this momentous day possible. John promised that the lifeboat would be well looked after by the volunteers throughout her service life at Amble.
A service of dedication was then led by the Reverend Gillian Harwood. She opened by saying “We come together before God to give thanks for this lifeboat Elizabeth and Leonard. We dedicate her to his service and seek protection for the lifeboat and the crews who operate her during her service in the RNLI”. The service included a reading from Mark 4 verses 35-42, the Lords and lifeboat prayers, two hymns, Eternal Father and Will your anchor hold.
Diane Loveridge then retook the stage and had the honour of naming the lifeboat Elizabeth and Leonard. The lifeboat came bow onto the Quay wall and Diane poured champagne over the bow to rapturise applause and cheering from the great army of well-wisher’s present. The Elizabeth and Leonard with a crew of RNLI volunteers, coxswained by David Bell then gave the cheering crowds a demonstration of her power and mobility by a serious of manoeuvres within the harbour.
Dr Paul Creighton former medical adviser and chairman of the Amble lifeboat station management group closed the proceedings by giving special thanks to all those who helped to make this wonderful possible.
John Wingfield later said that he was delighted with the event and overwhelmed by the huge numbers of people that gathered to make it such a memorable day in the history of RNLI Amble lifeboat station. John again expressed the gratitude on behalf of all the volunteers and those connected with the RNLI at Amble.
The Shannon is the RNLI’s next generation all-weather lifeboat and is the most agile in the RNLI fleet. It is the first modern RNLI all-weather lifeboat to be propelled by water jets and not propellers.
Capable of 25 knots, the Shannon is 50% faster than the lifeboats it replaces, ensuring that those in need are reached more quickly than before.
The RNLI has an All-weather Lifeboat Centre (ALC) at its headquarters in Poole, Dorset. The facility brings every stage of the lifeboat building process under one roof. Amble RNLI’s new Shannon was built here.
For more information, please contact Amble Lifeboat Press Officer Alan Stewart on 07919 924704 or email: [email protected]
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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