During the Bude Lifeboat Weekend over bank holiday weekend in August, an RNLI award evening was held in the RNLI marquee on the Sunday, giving recognition to two deserving members, Chris Bale and Christoper Knich.
The awards were presented by the chairman and council of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to recognise their dedicated service to Bude guild, shop and station.
Rob Bale, from Bude RNLI, said: 'The awards were really good, but I think it was a bit of a shock to the two recipients. Due to health reasons Christopher Kinch is moving back up country to where he comes from, having done 10 years beforehand in helping the station, so the award was a big thank you to him for all he has done. For father (Chris Bale) it was more of a long service award for all the work he's put into Lifeboat Weekend and the Bude RNLI for 40 years. It was quite a special evening, they were both quite choked up about it.'
The awards took place alongside a choir concert from Mevagissey Male Voice Choir, which Chris took part in as he is from Mevagissey - making another special moment.'
Rob continued: 'We had an audience of around 300 people in, which was great. Thank you to the public for supporting Bude Lifeboat Weekend as ever, and on behalf of the RNLI to the two who received their awards for everything they have done.'
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.
