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Blackpool RNLI pay tribute to longstanding medal winning volunteer retiring

Lifeboats News Release

Phil Denham retires from Blackpool RNLI on reaching his 70th birthday, having achieved over 5 decades of service with the RNLI in operational roles.

RNLI/Stephen Fitzgerald

Phil Denham RNLI Launch Authority

Phil joined the RNLI as a crew member on the Blackpool lifeboats and later qualified as an inshore lifeboat Helm, being involved in many rescues over the years. He has continued in later years of volunteering as a Launch Authority, whilst also qualifying as Launch and Recovery Driver, Lifeboat Training Co-ordinator and Sea Safety Volunteer. Phil also worked for the RNLI for many years in the 'Train One Save Many' roadshow team and other fundraising campaigns, before joining the RNLI Coastal Safety Team as an Event Supervisor.

Phil was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal for Gallantry, one of only six medals awarded to Blackpool RNLI volunteers in 160 years of service. On 6 January 1988, Phil was a volunteer helm of one of two Blackpool RNLI inshore lifeboats that were launched in response to two angling boats that had got into difficulty in horrendous conditions and gale force winds.

One casualty boat had capsized and the second casualty boat's crew were firing distress flares, this subsequently capsized too. The Blackpool RNLI inshore lifeboat crews reached the casualties, pulled two people from the water and took them to shore. Tragically two people lost their lives in the incident but one of the people rescued survived, making a full recovery.

For their actions that day in appalling and challenging conditions, Phil and his colleague Helm Keith Horrocks were awarded RNLI Bronze Medals for Gallantry. Both of their crews received the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum.

During this time Phil also worked for Blackpool Beach Patrol for 30 years, an example of his commitment and dedication to beach and sea safety in Blackpool. As recognition of his standing in the Blackpool RNLI community, Phil was selected to attend the RNLI 200th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in March earlier this year.

David Warburton, Blackpool RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said:

‘Phil has dedicated his adult life of over five decades to the safety of Blackpool’s beach and the sea, through his volunteering with the RNLI and work with Beach Patrol. He has been an integral part of the Blackpool Lifeboat Station over that time, with many rescues and lives saved to his name.

'We will definitely miss him and wish him the very best in his retirement’.

Notes to editors:

Photos attached show Phil Denham over a period of years of volunteering with the RNLI.

RNLI/Stephen Fitzgerald

Phil Denham 1988 medal award

RNLI/Stephen Fitzgerald

Phil Denham at Westminster Abbey 2024 RNLI 200 service

RNLI/Stephen Fitzgerald

Phil Denham fundraising and awareness

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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