Ethan, five produces a book about Whitstable Lifeboat
The Whitstable RNLI lifeboat has many supporters of all ages but one youngster has taken a particular interest in the station and has produced his own book featuring the lifeboat.
Five-year-old Ethan Torble who attends Joy Lane Primary School produced his book after being inspired to follow the activities of his local station by his grandfather Andrew Milton who is visits officer at Dover Lifeboat.
Mum Lucy Torble takes up the story “Through his grandfather’s association with the RNLI, Ethan has always been interested in lifeboats and his ambition is to one day be a crewmember. He found out that the Whitstable station was formed in 1963 and in his book has drawn a picture of the crew saving someone. He tells the story of how the crew has rescued numerous people over the years and the types of equipment they use. Ethan is always telling his best friend Jack and his other friends all about the lifeboat and its missions”.
On Saturday afternoon, Ethan and his mum came along to the station to hand over a copy of his book where he met lifeboat crewmembers Ruth Oliver and Richard Monje.
Said Ruth “We are most impressed with Ethan’s efforts and the interest he has taken in our and other lifeboats. It is always helpful to have someone so young amongst our supporters and he no doubt passes on the sea safety message to all his friends. We look forward to the day in perhaps a dozen years or so when he may join us as a volunteer crewmember”.
Notes to editors
Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.
The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.
She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.
RNLI media contacts
- Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
07741 012004/ [email protected]
- Paul Dunt RNLI Press Officer London/southeast/east Tel: 0207 6207416 Mob: (07785) 296252 [email protected]
For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
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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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.