
Final journey in a lifeboat for Whitstable RNLI Stalwart
The ashes of a man who served Whitstable Lifeboat Station and the RNLI for over 50 years were finally scattered at sea off the harbour, lifeboat station and town he loved on Sunday afternoon.
It was appropriate that as Atlantic 85 Lifeboat Lewisco launched and proceeded to sea it was against the backdrop of dozens of Topper sailing dinghies returning to the beach in front of the Whitstable Yacht Club of which he was president for the last 3-years of his life.
With all gathered at the end of the West Quay the final act to mark the culmination of Larry’s decades with the RNLI took place, his ashes scattered into the waters he knew so well and as the lifeboat proceeded to sea for an exercise his family and friends returned to the boathouse to no doubt share memories and stories and to hear a few words from his son Andrew who proposed a final toast in his memory of his favourite beverage, a tot of rum!
Nicknamed ‘Larry’ after BBC Children’s Hour character Larry the Lamb, he was rarely referred to by his real name; indeed, many never new of him as David.Larry became involved with the station in the early days when working as a docker around the harbour. He often recalled how Barry Hardy, the then Whitstable Harbourmaster who had been asked by the RNLI to form the station, walked up behind him on the quayside one day, put his hand on his shoulder and said, “You’re going to join the lifeboat, aren’t you Larry?”
That was the start of a 50-year association with the station, starting as a shore helper. He then joined the crew, eventually becoming a helmsman before retiring from sea-going duties in 1983 to become a Deputy Launching Authority and then on the death of his brother-in-law, Dave Foreman, taking on the role of Honorary Secretary, as the Lifeboat Operations Manager role was then known.
On retiring from the Honorary Secretary role in 2002, he continued to support the station and his late wife, Diane, who was chairman of the fundraising branch of the station. Larry was awarded an MBE for services to the RNLI.
Notes to editors
Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.
The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.
She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.
RNLI media contacts
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Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
07741 012004/ [email protected]
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Paul Dunt RNLI Press Officer London/southeast/east Tel: 0207 6207416 Mob: (07785) 296252 [email protected]
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For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer 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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