Retirement of Barrow Lifeboat Operations Manager, John Falvey

In total, John has given 20 years of dedicated voluntary service to the RNLI in Barrow and has made a huge contribution to the life saving work of the Charity in the Furness area and beyond. In announcing his retirement, John said:

"I have been an RNLI volunteer at Barrow in various roles over the last 20 years and during that time I have met many thousands of people in a variety of situations, some of them visitors, some to whom we give educational talks and some who have just had the worst experience of their lives, but thankfully had been rescued by our crew.

When a person has been in real danger at sea but has been successfully rescued by our volunteers and returned safely to shore, I can tell you that the best feeling in the world, for lifeboat people, is to know that but for the actions of our little team, here at Barrow, things would not have ended so happily. That is priceless, and at the end of the day that is why the RNLI teams exist.

For the last 4 years I have had the privilege of being the Operations Manager of the Barrow team and as I step down I want to thank the RNLI team at Barrow for supporting me, the crew and their families, station officers, and the Barrow Ladies Guild fundraising team. I also want to thank all of our partner agencies in the Police, Fire and Ambulance services, Furness Coastguard team and our flank independent lifeboat stations at Haverigg, Duddon and Ulverston. Finally can I thank members of the public for giving us donations without which we couldn't continue our lifesaving work and the media who keep our lifesaving work in the forefront of people’s mind.

Thank you all."

Saul Mendelssohn, RNLI Area Lifesaving Manager, paid tribute to John’s tireless work, saying:

“John has supported and developed a strong team of dedicated volunteers during his tenure as the Lifeboat Operations Manager at Barrow and leaves the station well prepared for many years to come.

For the past 20 years he has lead in Education, Fundraising and Operational efforts. In so doing he has made an immeasurable contribution to maritime safety in the Irish Sea which will continue to have impact long in to the future. We are very grateful to John and wish him all the best for a long and happy retirement.”

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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