A family affair as baby Arthur visits Hartlepool RNLI.
One of the youngest and potentially newest volunteers at Hartlepool RNLI station was on the crest of a wave when he made a brief and very sleepy appearance to meet the crewmembers at the Ferry Road lifeboat station recently.
One month old Arthur Dunnett who weighed a healthy 7lbs 10z when born at the University Hospital of North Tees was brought to the station by proud dad Liam who along with his dad Steve are volunteer crewmembers for the charity that saves lives at sea.
27 year old Liam who has been a volunteer crewmember for 10 years and is also a full time crewmember at Humber lifeboat station said ’This was Arthur’s first trip to the boathouse where he met some of the crew who were busy training at the time’.
‘I don’t think he will remember anything of the visit as he was fast asleep most of the time’.
Liam and his wife Sally hope that Arthur will also follow in the family tradition of joining the RNLI where Arthur’s grandad Steve has been on the crew for more than 20 years and Liam’s older brother Craig also served for 14 years.
Liam said ‘We shall have to wait and see but I hope he does become a volunteer then he can ‘learn the ropes’ from me just as I did with my dad when I first joined all those years ago’.
Proud grandad Steve said ‘It’s been fantastic seeing our grandson at the station which I hope will be one of many visits in the years to come’.
‘It brings back some wonderful memories of me bringing both Liam and his brother Craig down here as youngsters and showing them around the boathouse and the lifeboats’.
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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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