A Proud weekend for Ramsgate RNLI station

Armistice Day, also know as Remembrance Day, Monday 11 November 2019 marks one hundred years since the two minute silence was first observed in 1919, to commemorate the signing of the Armistice between the Allies and Germany to end the First World War.

Although many RNLI volunteers have been attending events around the country it wasn't until 2016 that the RNLI were invited for the first time to take part in the service at the Cenotaph in London.

This is especially poignant to the crew of Ramsgate RNLI as the town played a large part in the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940, when twenty RNLI lifeboats were amongst the seven hundred private boats that sailed from the town as part of Operation Dynamo to rescue 338,000 British and French soldiers trapped on the beaches at Dunkirk during the Second World War.

The crew were therefore delighted when two of them were honoured to be part of the Remembrance services over the weekend.

Becky, volunteer crew, was invited to form the Carpet Guard for the Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Albert Hall for the Remembrance Festival, which was televised by the BBC. She was representing Royal Navy Sea Scouts as it is one hundred years since Royal Navy Recognised Sea Scouts started. The invitation came due to her commitment and work for the Royal Navy Sea Scouts scheme. She has grown up and worked her way up through the scheme, and volunteered on HMS Bristol to help run the camps for other Scouts working their way through the scheme.

Phil, our station Mechanic, was picked to represent our region, London and South East and was invited to march with five other RNLI representatives past the Cenotaph in London in the presence of the Royal Family. This was in recognition of his many years of dedication to the RNLI.

Needless to say we are extremely proud of them both.

We are a lifesaving service that is funded entirely by donations from the public and the majority of the crew are volunteers so it means a lot for them to be recognised so publicly in this manner.

Karen Cox Lifeboat Press Officer email [email protected] tel. 07779848431

Paul Dunt RNLI Regional Media Officer London and South East email [email protected] tel.07785296252.

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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