St Bees RNLI volunteer steps down after 35 years saving lives at sea
After 35 years of service to the RNLI, St Bees volunteer Marcus Clarkson handed in his pager and said goodbye to his fellow volunteers. Marcus came down to the lifeboat station last week where he was presented with his Jubilee Medal and letter of thanks for his service by his friend and St Bees RNLI
Marcus joined St Bees RNLI in March 1987 as shore crew before becoming part of the boat crew a year later, passing out as a Helm in 1998. In 2007 he stood down as Helm to take up the position as a Deputy Launch Authority. This is a role that involves helping authorise the launch of the lifeboat, looking after the crew and making sure both crew and boat remain operational.
Marcus first started coming to the lifeboat station as a young boy and could not wait to be old enough to go on the boat. He has been involved in a wide variety of rescues including boats crashing on the rocks, unexploded bombs caught in fishing nets and helping to bring much needed supplies to the village when it was cut off by snow. For two of the rescues Marcus was awarded a ‘Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum’ and ‘The Ralph Glister Award' for the most meritorious service carried out by an Inshore Lifeboat. During his time at St Bees there have been 51 lives saved, four different lifeboats and two different stations.
Marcus said, ‘I will miss the camaraderie, the banter and the regular training exercises but I don't think I will miss the pager interrupting meals or waking me up in the night’.
All the crew would like to thank Marcus for his 35 years of service to St Bees and wish him all the best in the future. Marcus has left the RNLI after moving away from the village
RNLI media contacts
For more information please telephone Colin Wadey, St Bees RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07742207222 [email protected] or Claire Elshaw, Regional Media Officer on 07468 353082 or [email protected] or contact the RNLI Press Office 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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