RNLI New Quay come to the rescue of their colleagues at Penlee RNLI
RNLI New Quay come to the rescue of their colleagues at Penlee RNLI
Lifeboats News Release
Two members of the New Quay RNLI Lifeboat Station travelled to Penlee Lifeboat Station yesterday (Wednesday 8 November) and presented a set of old cast iron door handles to RNLI Coxswain Patch Harvey
RNLI/Elaine Trethowan
Mechanic Bernie Davies (centre) and Roger Couch, New Quay Lifeboat Operations Manager presenting the cast-iron handles to Coxswain Patch Harvey
Several weeks ago the beautiful cast-iron door handle fitted to the front door of the old lifeboat station at Penlee Point, Mousehole was stolen. Countless Penlee Lifeboat coxswains and crew members had turned it over the years and it was an important part of the station history.
Thankfully colleagues at RNLI New Quay Lifeboat Station in Ceredigion, West Wales have come to the rescue!
The two cast-iron handles pictured were once fitted to the front door of the old lifeboat station in New Quay, Ceredigion, West Wales.
Before the station was closed in the 1980’s the handles were removed by the current RNLI Mechanic Bernie Davies as a keepsake and something to remember the old building by.
On seeing the Penlee Lifeboat Facebook post about the theft of the handle, Bernie rummaged around in his garage and found the handles he had stored in the 80’s.
Yesterday (Wednesday 7 November) Mechanic Bernie Davies and Roger Couch, RNLI New Quay Lifeboat Operations Manager travelled the 313 miles that separate the two stations, a journey of 5 hours 43 minutes, and visited the old Penlee Lifeboat Station at Penlee Point, Mousehole where they presented the handles to Coxswain Patch Harvey.
Now the two lifeboat stations have some shared history and these wonderful old handles, turned so many times by generations of New Quay lifeboatmen, will have a new life at RNLI Penlee.
RNLI Coxswain Patch Harvey said ‘We are all thrilled to receive these beautiful old cast-iron handles from our colleagues at New Quay Lifeboat Station. They’re identical to the handle that was stolen a few weeks ago, and will soon be fitted at the old boathouse - a wonderful historic link between the two lifeboat stations. Our thanks go to Bernie and Roger for making such a long journey to deliver them - RNLI family at its best’
Diolch yn fawr iawn i' Cymreig...
RNLI/Colin Paul
Cast-iron door handle stolen from the old Penlee Lifeboat Station
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.
