Father and daughter prepare for Christmas on call together at Poole RNLI
For the past 20 Christmases, it been the ‘norm’ for Lily Clark that her dad has been on lifeboat duty, his pager, keys, and ‘crocs’ ready if a call came through, and there have been times when his pager rang out, amid the family.
This Christmas will be much the same, except Lily will have her pager switched on too, as she has followed in the family tradition and is now trainee crew. Lily came back from university for Christmas and went out on exercise with other crew members, Charlie and Tom plus a familiar face at the helm.
Lily’s dad, Jon Clark grew up in a lifeboat family as a kid, sharing family time around the lifeboat and he has been on call every Christmas since he joined the crew, over 38 years
Jon said: 'I am proud that Lily has made a commitment as it is a big commitment being a volunteer of the lifeboat crew, which she is very aware of, having grown up with it; she is also going to gain some great experience as trainee crew at Falmouth and I know she has the dedication, it’s in her DNA.
Lily said: ‘I have some big boots to follow, my grandad was 2nd Coxswain, and my dad Coxswain and now a helm, I have a lot to learn, but I have a great teacher. I am incredibly fortunate to also be able to train at Falmouth Lifeboat station, where I am studying Marine Biology at Exeter University. I have missed out on two years of training due to Covid, so I am ready to work hard and make up the lost time. I have always wanted to follow my dad on the lifeboat as it is our life, my mum is involved too, its something very much ingrained in our family values, to help people and make a difference’.
So this Christmas will be hopefully a 'quiet' one at home for the Clark family.
If you can, please donate to our festive fundraiser at the link below to help us save lives and to pay for the training and equipment to keep our volunteer crew, like Lily safe.
Thank you
https://www.facebook.com/donate/404295484737328/
Media contacts:
Anne-Marie Clark, LPO Poole Lifeboat Station (07887) 855073 [email protected]
Paul Dunt, Regional Media Officer SE and London (07785) 296252 [email protected]
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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