Plaque revealed commemorating legacy in memory at Porthdinllaen RNLI station.
A plaque was unveiled recently at Porthdinllaen RNLI lifeboat station in recognition of a legacy received in memory of local RNLI supporter and fundraiser Mrs Stella Riley.
Mrs. Riley's close relatives, Bill and Erika Gloyn visited Porthdinllaen RNLI to unveil the plaque that notes the generous bequest made by Mrs Stella Riley which covered the cost of running the North Wales lifeboat station in 2017. Stella Riley was a familiar face in the village of Morfa Nefyn, being a dedicated fundraiser for the charity for well over 50 years.’
Bill, Stella`s husband worked for the Decca Navigator company which had developed a system for accurate location and navigation of marine vessels. Bill was appointed Station Engineer at a new central monitoring station at Abersoch and this is where Stella`s involvement with the RNLI began in 1966 when the family moved from Newark in Scotland to the Welsh village of Abersoch. By now, Stella`s mother, Mrs. Edith Taylor had moved in with them, and made a name for herself with for making Welsh Lavender Dolls which were sold at various RNLI events with all proceeds’ going to the charity. In 1974, in recognition of her fund raising activities at Abersoch and with the Caernarvonshire Ladies Guild, Stella was invited to Buckingham Palace event to mark the 150th Anniversary of the RNLI, this was one of her proudest moments, which she cherished for the rest of her life.
Following the closure of the Decca Station in 1979, Stella and her husband Bill, and her mother Edith moved to the Morfa Nefyn, and continued her fund raising activities with the Porthdinllaen Lifeboat Guild. By now Stella, had encouraged more members of the family to travel to Morfa Nefyn on Lifeboat Week to assist her and the Guild in the fundraising activities. This was the time Bill`s mother, Gladys Gloyn became involved along with an additional two aunties, who would assist in house to house collections and during the Open Day at the Porthdinllaen Station, all three, Edith, Stella and Gladys would receive framed certificated from the Director of the RNLI in recognition of their fund raising efforts.
During the unveiling, Bill Gloyn added ‘It is a privilege to unveil this plaque in recognition of Aunt Stella`s generosity and I hope that this will inspire others to follow her example of supporting the RNLI and the Volunteer Crews who are willing to give up their time to assist others in peril on the sea’
Kenneth Fitzpatrick, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Porthdinllaen added ‘Mrs. Riley was a well-known and liked figure within the RNLI at Porthdinllaen, she dedicated a vast amount of her time to fundraising locally. To have been involved in fundraising for over fifty years is a remarkable achievement. We will forever be indebted to her.’
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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