Donate now

The RNLI in Scotland celebrates International Women’s Day

Lifeboats News Release

Today, 8 March, marks International Women’s Day 2024 which aims to celebrate and promote the achievements of all women. In Scotland, the charity is celebrating the remarkable lifeboat volunteers of the RNLI changing perceptions and saving lives at sea.

RNLI

Lawrie and Leonie at the exhibition in London.

Across Scotland, the RNLI has 46 lifeboat stations that all contribute to the charity’s important work of saving lives at sea. On International Women’s Day, the charity is celebrating and promoting the achievements of women who are changing perceptions.

In Aberdeen, Chloe Urquhart made local history last year by becoming the youngest D-class helm to pass out on Aberdeen lifeboat station’s inshore lifeboat, Buoy Woody 85N, aged just 21 years of age.

Her journey began when she was 17 and she first joined the RNLI at Portree lifeboat station. She later transferred to Aberdeen RNLI when she moved to pursue medical studies at Aberdeen University. She follows in the footsteps of her father, a Deputy Launch Authority, and uncle, a retired coxswain of Portree lifeboat. Her grandmother was also a lead fundraiser and essential part of the ladies’ guild too.

She says: ‘I love the variety that comes with volunteering for the RNLI – no shout or exercise is ever the same – and we work closely with other emergency services too.’

In the north of Scotland, Jane Hier, a dentist, became Kessock RNLI’s first female helm in 2022 after volunteering on the crew since 2017. Jane is joined on the crew by Mandie Cran - the station’s first female launch authority.

She says: ‘We returned to Scotland two years ago, and I now work as an RYA sailing instructor at a Sea School in Inverness, I also do coastal rowing and the safety boat at a local Sailing Club; when I heard they were looking for Launch Authorities I thought that finally I could support the lifeboat and give something back for all the reassurance they have given me over the years. Throughout my career I was always the first female in a role, so being the first female Launch Authority feels completely normal!’

Last year, volunteer crew member, Louise Cooper, became the first woman at Buckie RNLI to qualify as a navigator on the lifeboat, and Fiona Kibby became Dunbar RNLI’s first female launch authority. At Stonehaven, Suzanne Lumsden passed her assessment to become the station’s first female tractor driver.

In Longhope, GP practice nurse, Roz Ware, was on the crew for 12 years before becoming a Deputy Launch Authority (DLA) at Longhope RNLI. As DLA, she is responsible for authoring the launch of the Longhope lifeboat.

She has recently been nominated for The Sunday Post’s People’s Choice Award in the Royal College of Nursing Scotland’s Awards for her voluntary work with the RNLI, alongside her day job on the island.

She says: ‘It takes a lot of courage to get on a lifeboat but when lives are at risk, you find it. The parallels are those of all of us in nursing who give our best to help patients in need of vital treatment and support every working day.’

At Oban RNLI Lifeboat Station, three volunteer crew have featured in a film about the role of women in the RNLI - Lawrie, Leonie and Jasmin. The film Searchlight was commissioned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Safety Charity and produced by award-winning film-maker, Dan McDougall.

Two of the Oban RNLI volunteers, Lawrie and Leonie, travelled to London last week for a screening of the film at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich as part of the museum’s ‘Women of the RNLI’ exhibition. After the screening, they took part in a Q&A session about their roles at the RNLI.

Leonie says: ‘The truth is, we aren’t the pioneers – others led the way. Women have always been there.’


RNLI media contacts

Natasha Bennett, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland, 07826 900639, [email protected]

Tom McGuire, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland and Ireland, 00353 87 476 4436, [email protected]

Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Scotland, 07920 365929, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789

RNLI

Fiona Kebby at Dunbar

RNLI

Mandie at Kessock RNLI

RNLI

Louise at Buckie RNLI

RNLI/Jamee Kirkpatrick

Chloe at Aberdeen RNLI

RNLI/Anna Carlton

Suzanne at Stonehaven RNLI

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.

Categories