RNLI Penlee HMS Warspite memories
Two ash trays from the wreck of HMS Warspite were found in Wolverhampton and have been donated by the Lilley family to RNLI Penlee and they will be displayed in the Lifeboat station’s visitor centre.
At the helm of the Penlee Lifeboat ‘W and S’ for the first time, coxswain Edwin (Eddie) Madron handled his craft with such skill that all were able to make the dangerous leap without injury. Coxswain Madron was awarded the Silver Medal of the RNLI and mechanic Johnny Drew received the bronze medal. The remaining crew, Abraham Madron, Joe Madron, Ben Jeffery, Clarry Williams, Jack Worth, Luther Oliver, Jack Wallis, and Charlie Edmonds all received the thanks of the RNLI on vellum.
On Tuesday 25th June 2024 Charlotte Lilley kindly donated two bronze ashtrays salvaged from HMS Warspite to Andy Bramwell RNLI Community Manager for Cornwall for display at Penlee Lifeboat station’s visitor centre. Charlotte’s grandfather rescued the ashtrays from a scrapyard in Wolverhampton, and the family kept them as heirlooms. Despite growing up away from the sea, Charlotte’s family were always huge supporters of the RNLI.
Charlotte’s husband, David, began working in the RNLI’s Face to Face fundraising team a few years ago, and came on a training day at Penlee lifeboat station. He noticed the HMS Warspite rescue story in the visitor centre and remembered Charlotte’s two ashtrays, inherited from her grandmother.
Charlotte decided to donate the ashtrays to the RNLI to go on display in the visitor centre to help tell the story of the rescue, and complete the ashtrays journey from Cornwall to Wolverhampton and back to Cornwall.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.
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