Newquay's own crew of RNLI lifeboat volunteers including fundraisers, shop volunteers, visits team, press officers, operations manager, launch authorities, lifeboat crew, shore crew and even one or two potential 'future crew' lined up at Newquay Harbour to take part in the historic event at the same time as RNLI crews across its 238 stations.
Newquay RNLI Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer Andy Hobkinson said: 'During the charity's 200th anniversary year we have been remembering our own RNLI heritage at Newquay lifeboat station which first opened in 1860, celebrating the service provided by today's dedicated volunteers and aiming to inspire future crew and supporters, so that the station can continue to save lives at sea for generations to come'.
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.
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.
Notes to editors
Main picture: Newquay RNLI operational crew and supporting volunteers gather outside the lifeboat station to celebrate One Moment One Crew.
Newquay lifeboat station first opened in 1860 and today’s RNLI volunteers operate two inshore lifeboats from the harbour and are on call 24-hours-a-day to save lives at sea.
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact Andy Hobkinson, volunteer Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer at
[email protected] or 07880 507464 or Emma Haines, RNLI Regional Communications Manager at
[email protected] or 07786 668847 or contact the RNLI Press Office (24 hours) on 01202 336789.
