20th Christmas on call for Liz at Staithes and Runswick RNLI

Monday 9 December 2024

Liz Wilson, who is celebrating her 20th year as Staithes and Runswick RNLI lifeboat crew is just one of the many volunteers who will be on call throughout the Christmas period this year.

Liz Wilson being presented with her 20 year service medal by station chairman Neil Anderson during an RNLI 200th celebration at the station.

Christmas is a time for family and friends, but RNLI volunteer crews are always ready to leave their celebrations and answer the call for help. Elizabeth (Liz) Wilson, from Staithes and Runswick RNLI, is one such volunteer.

With both her father Willie and uncle James Wright on the crew and her mother Lucy part of the Ladies Guild the RNLI was always a part of Liz’s early life.

Liz’s link to lifeboats also extends to her name. In 1970 as The Royal Thames a 37ft Oakley class lifeboat arrived for Runswick Bay one crew member, Willie Wright, received a message via radio from the Coastguard. His wife, Lucy had given birth to his daughter. Willie wanted a link to that boat, The Royal Thames, naming his daughter Elizabeth after the Queen, associating the ‘royal’ element of the name of the lifeboat he had just brought to Runswick.

Liz joined the lifeboat crew in late 2004. Attending the regular training sessions. Her first shout came shortly after, when the pagers went off at 12.30pm on 27 December 2004 Liz acted as shore crew. The very next day, Liz was at the station again as shore crew on a follow-up call out.

Liz’s first launch as crew on the lifeboat was on the 2 May 2005, following her training both at Poole and on station. This was to reports of canoeists in difficulty near Port Mulgrave, they were located and no assistance was required.

Liz's most memorable experience was the service to the yacht Phalarope, an initial crew went to extract the casualties from the vessel in September 2016. The steel hulled yacht was aground at Skinningrove. Ropes and kedge anchors were put on the vessel in order for to prevent it running further aground.

Liz and another crew member waited aboard the casualty vessel until the flood tide for the yacht to refloat. Which happened as the Staithes and Runswick RNLI lifeboat B-788 Pride of Leicester stood by in the darkness of midnight.

Because of a rock creating a fulcrum point the yacht rose unevenly on the tide, slamming back down onto the shore in the swell. Those on the lifeboat commenting on how extreme the shock was to the boat.

Luckily the vessel refloated, with Whitby lifeboat picking up the tow once Staithes lifeboat had extracted the vessel from the rocks.

Both Liz and her husband Chris are RNLI volunteers, Liz recalls the all too familiar moment when the pager sounds, often leading to a frantic race for the door:

‘It’s like we’re both in some kind of mad dash to be the first one out,’ she laughed. ‘Chris, as the Launch Vehicle Driver, and I both end up tripping over each other, trying to get out the door as quickly as possible.’

While there’s no time for laughter in an emergency, Liz’s description highlights the urgency of the moment. It’s a routine they’ve grown accustomed to, but every time the pager sounds, this urgency is real. Even during this comical scramble, both Liz and Chris are focused on the task at hand, ready to leap into action as soon as they can – it will be no different this Christmas, with both pausing the presents and turkey if the call comes to save lives at sea.

Liz added: ‘There’s nothing quite like being able to bring someone safely back to their family – especially at Christmas time. Even during the holiday season, people can still get into trouble on the water, and we’re always ready to leave our own celebrations to help.

‘However, as volunteer lifeboat crew members, we depend on the generous donations from the public to fund the training, and equipment we need to rescue others and ensure we can return safely to our own families.’

To make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal, and enable the charity to continue its lifesaving work, please visit: RNLI.org/WinterAppeal

Notes to Editors
On average, RNLI lifeboats launch over 100 times during the Christmas period* every year. Whatever weather winter throws at them, RNLI crews are ready to battle the elements to save lives at sea. These rescues, and others all year round, are only made possible by the RNLI’s generous supporters, helping to fund the essential kit, training and equipment needed to keep crews prepared and protected.

*’Christmas period’ refers to 24 December – 1 January inclusive

Staithes and Runswick RNLI lifeboat has been in operation since 1978 with Atlantic B-Class inshore lifeboats (ILB’s). The present ILB at the station B-897 Sheila and Dennis Tongue III has been on station since 2016.

The RNLI is the charity which saves lives at sea. In 2024, the RNLI is celebrating 200 years - and counting, commemorating this remarkable past, celebrating our lifesaving achievements today, and inspiring a future where we can save every one. More information on RNLI 200 can be found at https://rnli.org/about-us/our-history/2024

RNLI media contacts
For further information, please contact James Stoker, RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer at: [email protected] or Clare Hopps, RNLI Regional Communications Manager (North and East) on 07824 518641 or, [email protected] or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.

Liz captured by Jack Lowe in 2017 during his Lifeboat Station Project, capturing images of volunteer RNLI crews on glass plates using traditional processing methods.

Anna Heslop presenting Liz Wilson with her medal and a photograph of station chairman Neil Anderson with Liz, commemorating her 20 years of volunteering at a previous event, on 13 December 2024

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.

20th Christmas on call for Liz at Staithes and Runswick RNLI

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