
Hoylake RNLI marks 200 years of lifesaving with special ‘One Crew’ photograph
On Thursday 1 August, volunteers and staff from Hoylake RNLI lifeboat station took part in a special project – 'One Moment One Crew' – to create a photographic record of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's lifesavers around the UK and Ireland in its 200th anniversary year.
The RNLI, which was founded in 1824, asked its volunteers and staff around the coast and inshore waters to assemble and create a photograph of the people who help the charity to save lives in their local area at 18:24 on 1/8/24.
The Hoylake RNLI community gathered on the slipway in front on the lifeboat station to mark One Moment One Crew together. Representatives from the lifeboat, tractor and shore crews, station officials, fundraisers, and shop, visits and water safety volunteers were captured in a unique aerial photograph, which will feature alongside images from across the RNLI in a commemorative montage.
With the station’s staff and volunteers assembled, John Curry, Chairman of the Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI Management Group, read out the RNLI’s One Crew Pledge. John said:
‘Whoever we are, wherever we are from, we are one crew ready to save lives. We’re powered by passion, talent and kindness like generations of selfless lifesavers before us. This is our watch. We lead the way, valuing each other, trusting each other, depending on one another, volunteering to face the storm together knowing that with courage, nothing is impossible. That is what has always driven us to save every one we can. It’s what makes every one of us a lifesaver.’
The RNLI celebrated its 200th anniversary on 4 March this year, and this photographic moment is one of a range of events and programmes that the charity has organised to mark its bicentenary. Hoylake RNLI marked the occasion by joining a flotilla of the region’s lifeboats in the River Mersey.
Anjie Rook, RNLI Associate Director, who is overseeing the RNLI’s 200th anniversary programmes, said:
‘The RNLI has been saving lives at sea for 200 years thanks to its incredible people – the courageous lifeboat crews and lifeguards who put their own lives at risk to save others; the dedicated fundraisers who raise the income to power those rescues; the committed volunteers who give their own time in a range of other roles such as giving out water safety advice or helping to run our retail shops and museums, and the staff who provide vital support to our volunteers.’
‘We have encouraged anyone who has some form of involvement with the RNLI to participate in this special One Moment for One Crew photographic event, to capture a record of everyone who, at this moment in time, is playing some part in the RNLI’s lifesaving work, continuing its legacy and securing its future.’
‘During our 200th anniversary year we have been remembering our past, celebrating the lifesaving service we provide today, and aiming to inspire future generations of lifesavers and supporters. One Moment for One Crew is very much about celebrating the people of today’s RNLI and, we hope, inspiring those future generations who will take the RNLI into its third century of lifesaving.’
Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its volunteer crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives – this equates to an average of two lives saved every day for 200 years.
Founded in a London tavern on 4 March 1824 following an appeal from Sir William Hillary, who lived on the Isle of Man and witnessed many shipwrecks, the RNLI has continued saving lives at sea throughout the past two centuries. Today, it operates 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, including four on the River Thames, and has seasonal lifeguards on 238 lifeguarded beaches around the UK. It designs and builds its own lifeboats and runs domestic and international water safety programmes.
For further information about the RNLI’s 200th anniversary, visit RNLI.org/200.
RNLI media contacts
For more information, please contact:
Dan Whiteley, Hoylake RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer on 07799 851 316 or email [email protected]
Claire Devine, Hoylake RNLI Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer 07734 817 068 or email [email protected]
RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789
Notes to editors
Hoylake Lifeboat Station was founded in 1803 and is one of the oldest lifeboat stations in the UK, pre-dating the RNLI by 21 years. It operates the Shannon class all-weather lifeboat
Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood and Inshore Rescue Hovercraft Hurley Spirit.
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.