Clovelly RNLI volunteers called away from wedding to respond to pager
The volunteer Clovelly lifeboat crew were paged at 12.47pm on Saturday 18 September to assist Hartland Coastguard rescue team on Clovelly beach. With an incoming tide, they were required to help evacuate a casualty.
Crew Luke Gist and Jamie Dawkins were attending Luke's sisters wedding at Woolsery Church. It was a proud moment for Luke as his son was a page boy alongside his cousin. They had just watched them walk down the aisle and were warming up there voices for the first Hymn 'All Creatures Great and Small' when the pagers started to sing a song of their own.
Arriving at the station, Luke and Jamie, along side two other crew, helped the coastguard team carry a female with an injury to her ankle off a pebble bank that was soon to be covered by the incoming tide.
On returning to the wedding the two had missed the whole ceremony. Luke said: 'Luckily my new brother in law is a fireman and my sister a First Responder, so the sound of a pager ruining a family occasion isn't out of the norm.'
Their wedding had been plagued by the pandemic and other set backs including light aircraft, so a lifeboat shout just adds to the memories.
Everyone at the station wish the female casualty a speedy recovery.
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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