
RNLI 200 scroll arrives at Scarborough RNLI but the ALB is not there
At 10:30am, Wednesday 5 June 2024, the RNLI 200 Connecting Communities scroll relay arrived at Scarborough RNLI. An exciting relay-style event, Connecting our Communities marks the RNLI’s 200th anniversary, bringing RNLI communities together for an extraordinary moment in our lifesaving history.
The scroll began its journey on Monday 4 March 2024, at a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey to mark the charity’s official 200th anniversary, (where Scarborough RNLI also had 10 attendees). Since then, the five-metre-long scroll has been making it’s way round the UK.
Upon its arrival at Scarborough RNLI, the crew members of Scarborough RNLI that attended where gifted with an explanation of what makes the scroll special, along with a close look of the scroll. The crew witnessed Scarborough RNLI’s chairperson, Colin Woodhead and Lifeboat Operations Manager, Roger Buxton sign the scroll for the station. Roger was the 360th signatory, Colin was the 361st and there are expected to be approximately 700 signatories in total.
Colin Woodhead, Chairperson, Scarborough RNLI commented: ‘It’s been a privilege to sign the RNLI 200 scroll on behalf of the station. But it has also been very humbling too. This is a significant event of the RNLI’s 200th anniversary year. For 200 years, it is people who have made the RNLI what it is – from our brave lifesavers who risk their lives to save others, to the committed fundraisers and generous donors who fund our lifesaving work. The scroll is a reflection of the RNLI community and the local communities we serve.’
However, there was something quite significant missing for the arrival and signing of the RNLI 200 scroll. Scarborough RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Fredrick William Plaxton was not in the boat house. The scroll arrived during a busy time at the station, following a multi-agency shout and during a call to a de-masted vessel.
Roger Buxton, Lifeboat Operations Manager, Scarborough RNLI said: ‘On the scroll is the RNLI’s One Crew pledge, in which we promise our commitment to saving every one we can. Having the ALB tasked to assist a vessel in distress just before the arrival of the scroll, resulting in the crew onboard missing the scroll at the station, shows what it means to be crew of an RNLI station. Even if it means missing something special, like the RNLI 200 scroll at the station, we are here to save lives at sea, whenever that need arises, it is what we do as RNLI crew’.
Notes to editors
- Scarborough RNLI has been operating since 1801 and is one of the oldest stations in the United Kingdom still in operation. To learn more about the lifeboat station go to: https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/scarborough-lifeboat-station.
- The RNLI 200 scroll has been printed on bamboo paper. It has a bespoke case – made from the same materials used to build and maintain RNLI lifeboats, stations and lifeguard units. The spindle ends have been crafted using a 19th-century flagpole from Ramsey Lifeboat Station, Isle of Man. This flagpole dates back to the early 1890s.
- Over the seven month journey, the scroll will be visiting 240 RNLI locations within the UK and Ireland.
- The RNLI’s lifesaving reach and remit has also developed over the course of 200 years. Today, it operates 238 lifeboat stations, including four on the River Thames, and has seasonal lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and Ireland. It designs and builds its own lifeboats and runs domestic and international water safety programmes.
RNLI Photo credit
Credit photos to RNLI/Scarborough RNLI
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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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