North Berwick RNLI say farewell to much loved fundraiser

Carol McMinn nee Duffy was born in Ayrshire in 1958. She moved to North Berwick with her Mother as a teenager and worked at the Marine Hotel. Carol became the front face of their reception, welcoming people to the town. Being well suited to the hospitality industry, in 1992 along with Ian, they took over the Auld Hoose pub in Forth Street, North Berwick..

Carol shared Ian’s love for the sea and the RNLI. Ian was an active crew member and Carol supported him and the crew by actively fundraising through assisting with the coffee mornings, fetes, raffles and other fundraising events. She was also box secretary for many years arranging all the collection boxes in and around the town.

The Auld Hoose was a welcoming pub for all, including the lifeboat crew, harbour users, locals and the like, but when Carol called time that was it.

Carol’s commitment to the RNLI was recognised a couple of years ago and she was issued with a medal for over 30 years of service to fundraising. Carol’s Death was sudden and unexpected leaving a large void in the wider community as she still worked at the newspaper kiosk at the station.North Berwick RNLI Press Officer Rhona Meikle said “The turn out yesterday despite it being a cold snowy day, showed how much Carol was loved and how well thought of she was in the community. She will be sadly missed and we will do our very best to support Ian (one of our divisional launching authorities) at this sad time. The fundraising work that Carol supported us in will continue but will be that bit harder without her.”

RNLI media contacts: Rhona Meikle, volunteer lifeboat press officer at North Berwick, 07767 251023, [email protected]

Or Gemma McDonald, Public Relations Manager Scotland on 01738 642956, 07826 900639, [email protected]

Or Martin Macnamara, RNLI Press Officer for Scotland, 01738 642946, 07920 365929, [email protected]

Or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789.

RNLI online

For more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI Press Centre www.rnli.org.uk/press

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 over 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 100 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK. 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 137,000 lives. The RNLI is a charity registered in England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

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.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

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.