Fowey Lifeboat Station volunteer joins RNLI Poppies to Paddington commemoration

RNLI volunteers from across the GWR network – including many former service personnel – will join the operation by placing commemorative wreaths on board early-morning services on Monday 11 November, at 90 stations along the route.

Now in its fifth year, the Poppies to Paddington operation will feature 10 GWR trains carrying hundreds of wreaths from RNLI communities. On arrival in London, the wreaths will be laid at Paddington station’s war memorial on Platform 1 ahead of a special service of remembrance. The wreaths will be accompanied by RNLI military veterans Simon Jeffery, Coxswain at Plymouth RNLI and Tony Rendle, mechanic at Penlee RNLI, who will both attend the service at Paddington.

Gaynor Williams, RNLI Education and Water Safety volunteer from Par in Cornwall, organised a knitathon with volunteers at Cornubia in Par, knitting enough poppies to make a large wreath, dedicated from Fowey Lifeboat Station, to take to London. She says;

‘I am so pleased to have the opportunity to support the RNLI’s involvement in Poppies to Paddington and honour my parents. Both were officers and served in the Wrens and Fleet Air Army. My father had two lucky escapes but was an unsung hero, as were most of the young men, but they didn’t talk about it. I get the chance to honour them both and the sacrifices they all made. It is important to me, and I am so privileged that I can do this as part of my role with the RNLI.’

GWR Operations Director, Richard Rowland, said: ‘Poppies to Paddington will involve 10 train services covering the length and breadth of the Great Western network, including the use of our Night Riviera sleeper service from Penzance for the first time, and it promises to be another poignant occasion at London Paddington.’

The RNLI’s partnership with GWR was launched this year as part of the charity’s 200^th anniversary and was marked by the unveiling of a commemorative RNLI 200 livery on a GWR train in May.

The RNLI’s participation holds special significance as its connection to the armed forces and acts of bravery during wartime are woven into the charity’s history. Lifeboat crews continued to save lives throughout both World Wars, and many of today’s volunteers and staff are either current or ex-service personnel.

During the First World War, many young lifeboat crew members left their stations to fight, causing the average age of the lifeboat crews left at home to increase to over 50. During the war years (1914-18), RNLI lifeboats launched 1,808 times, saving 5,332 lives.

In 1939, lifeboat volunteers were called away again to war. Nevertheless, by the end of the Second World War in 1945, RNLI crews had saved 6,376 lives around the coasts of Britain and Ireland.

The RNLI’s ongoing commitment to supporting those who serve in the armed forces was made official when the charity signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2023, reaffirming the charity’s dedication to providing a welcoming community for ex-service personnel looking to continue serving the public in a different capacity.

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.