As a token of thanks, 4,500 Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteers and frontline staff have been awarded a special commemorative Platinum Jubilee medal.
The new commemorative medal has been created to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. As well as being awarded to RNLI volunteers and frontline staff, those who serve in the emergency services, prison services and Armed Forces who have completed five years consecutive service will also receive the award.
When Princess Elizabeth became Queen in 1952, she also became patron of the RNLI, continuing a lifesaving legacy left by the charity’s first patron King George IV.
Whitby RNLI Coxswain Howard Fields said: 'Thank you very much to Venetia Wrigley for attending and presenting the medals to our volunteers. We are proud to have received the Queen's Platinum Jubilee medal in recognition of the lifesaving work of our volunteers.'
The crew members who were available to collect their medals included: Andrew Cass, Anthony Gibbon, Dave Harcourt, Howard Fields, Richard Dowson, Ian Taylor, Jonathan Marr, Keith Attridge, Leah Hunter, Lee Harland, Geoff Hodgson and Shane Ingram. Medals will also be awarded to Aden Welford, Nathan Jones, Josh Jones, Adam Wright, Jamie White, Mark Frankland, Barry Snedden, and Rob Garrett who have all completed over five years of operational duties.
For more information contact Lifeboat Press Officer Ceri Oakes at [email protected] or on 07813359428
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.