Appledore RNLI says goodbye to a stalwart member of the lifeboat team
It is with great sadness that Appledore RNLI has learnt of the death of a past crew member who went on to become the Appledore lifeboat operations manager before he retired.
Richard Miller, known to most as ‘Butch’, joined the Appledore lifeboat crew as a volunteer crew member back in 1979 and remained on the crew until May 2000 when he became the lifeboat operations manager until his resignation in April 2005.
With 26 years of unstinting voluntary service dedicated to saving lives at sea he was involved in many rescues and will be sadly missed by all the crew who served on the boats with him and then under him.
Appledore RNLI Chairman and ex-crew member, John Pavitt, who served on the crew with Butch for many years says: ‘I have many fond memories of Butch during his time with the RNLI. He was a very competent crew member, helm and navigator who gave many years of dedicated service to the RNLI at Appledore. His larger than life character will be sadly missed by all that knew him.’
Our deepest commiserations go to his family and friends.
The funeral will be held at Barnstaple Crematorium on Thursday 22 March at 1.40 pm.
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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