
Coffee morning raises £227.54 for Wells-next-the-Sea RNLI
A coffee morning was held on Wednesday 6 December in the home of Mary Rainsford, a former member of Wells RNLI Fundraising Guild. Mary now aged 94 served on the Guild Committee since moving to Wells in 1994.
Mary was a nurse in her working years and her and husband Michael lived in North Walsham. When Michael retired, they moved back to Wells in 1994, which was Michael’s birthplace. Michael sadly passed away in 2000. Mary is proud mother to four children, Sue, Peter, Linda and Wendy, grandparent to 11 and Great grandmother to six children.
Mary’s son, Peter Rainsford, moved to Wells in the early 80s and soon joined the RNLI crew as a Deputy Launching Officer. This began the connection to the RNLI. Peter is still an active member, now Chairman of the Wells RNLI.
Mary and Michael Rainsford were both active members of the fundraising guild and regularly held coffee mornings at their home in Waveney Close. At that time the old lifeboat house did not have a shop and the coffee mornings and other fundraising events were vital for selling merchandise and Christmas cards, in support of the RNLI. Mary was proudly awarded a silver badge in recognition of her valuable support to the RNLI in 2009.
In 2022, the old lifeboat was replaced with a new bigger lifeboat house, which houses the Shannon class, all-weather lifeboat, Duke of Edinburgh. There is a well stocked shop in the boathouse, which is usually open Fridays to Mondays 10am to 4pm, selling various lifeboat related items.
Wells RNLI is holding a Carol Service on Sunday 17 December at 6.30pm. The Fakenham Town Band and the Wells Churches Together choir will be performing in the beautiful new boathouse.
RNLI media contacts
For more information please telephone Adele Meakin, RNLI volunteer Deputy Press Officer on 07989 901733 or [email protected] or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
Notes to editor
The Wells RNLI is located at Beach Road, Wells-next-the-sea, Norfolk, NR23 1DR. There is a well stocked shop in the boat house, usually open Fridays to Mondays, 10am-4pm, staffed entirely by volunteers. Some changes to these days are likely, due to staff shortages.
The current lifeboats at the station are a Shannon class all-weather lifeboat No 13-46, Duke of Edinburgh, new to the station in 2023 and a D class Inshore lifeboat No. D-797 Peter Wilcox, in service since 2016.
In 2022, the old lifeboat was replaced with a new bigger lifeboat house, which houses the Shannon class, all-weather lifeboat, Duke of Edinburgh.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of the charity and 97% of frontline lifesavers are volunteers.
The RNLI's vision is to save every one. To find out more about the RNLI and make a donation, please visit RNLI.org/donate. Every penny counts.
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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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
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