
Falmouth RNLI volunteer recognised for 30 years of helping save lives at sea
Deputy Second Coxswain Carl Beardmore was recently presented with an RNLI Long Service Medal at Falmouth Lifeboat Station by RNLI Area Lifesaving Manager James Millidge.
Carl was brought up in Sedgley in the West Midlands and a career in the RAF brought him to Cornwall where joined the RNLI at Newquay Lifeboat Station in 1992. He served as a crew member on the station’s C class inshore lifeboat and later as a helm on the B class Atlantic 21 and 75 inshore lifeboats. He moved to Falmouth in 1995 and joined the crew on the station’s Arun class all-weather lifeboat Elizabeth Ann and Atlantic 21 inshore lifeboat Falmouth Round Table.
Carl became a deputy second coxswain in 2010 and has also been an RNLI assessor/trainer for the last 21 years.
In his 30 years as an RNLI crew member, Carl has been out on many service call outs but one in particular stands out for him. It occurred on 2 November 2005 when the 32 metre former refrigerated trawler Galina, with eight people onboard, was en route from the Baltic to Israel when the vessel lost all power in storm force conditions at night, five miles south east of Dodman Point, and started to drift to drift towards the coast. Falmouth’s Severn class all-weather lifeboat Richard Cox Scott, under the command of Coxswain Mark Pollard, was launched together with the Fowey all-weather lifeboat.
Carl was a member of the crew that night and recalls the huge waves and ferocious winds. He said: ‘We radioed a request for a salvage tug to come out but we realised that by the time it got here, the Galina would have been dangerously close to the rocks. We knew we had to establish a tow with the vessel to try and hold it in position and because of the terrible conditions which could have swept us overboard, it took 40 minutes to achieve this.’
The lifeboat managed to hold the Galina for an hour before the tug arrived and the vessel and crew were saved. Coxswain Mark Pollard was awarded the RNLI’s Bronze Medal for his fortitude, exemplary leadership and outstanding seamanship during this rescue. The other members of the Falmouth Lifeboat crew, including Carl, received a Medal Service Certificate for there part in the service.
When presenting Carl his medal, James Millidge said: ’30 years of service to the RNLI, the local community and to all those he has helped in that time, demonstrate the core RNLI values of selflessness, dependability, trustworthiness and courage.’
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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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