Infants School continues many years of supporting the RNLI on the Thames
Apart from a gap during the pandemic, Chiswick RNLI’s Lifeboat Press Officer has been visiting Strand on the Green Infants school for the last 18 years to talk about the life saving work of the RNLI on the tidal Thames.
On 26 January 2023 Chiswick LPO, David Clarke and volunteer crew Paul Downes, who wore the full kit, were the focal point of an assembly of 270 children. Paul demonstrated the kit the crew need to wear and talked about the dangers of the river. The children learnt about the need to ask an adult to phone 999 and ask for the coastguard if they see someone in trouble in the water. Many children already knew about lifeboats on the Thames and asked pertinent questions. The school asked pupils to wear something waterproof to school the next day and were encouraged to bring a small donation for the RNLI.
A week later the duty crew brought the lifeboat to Strand on the Green to meet a small group of pupils and receive the £212 pounds they had collected. After chatting to the crew the children cheered the lifeboat as it left, to the delight of customers at the nearby pub.
Chiswick RNLI lifeboat station is the second busiest in the UK and Ireland. Since The RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames started in 2002, Chiswick Lifeboat has attended over 4,000 incidents and rescued over 1,750 people. The RNLI is entirely funded by public donations.
RNLI media contacts
- David Clarke RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer (Chiswick), 07951 210500 [email protected]
- For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 33678
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.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.