
RNLI prize draw winner celebrates birthday aboard Shannon class lifeboat
Diane Wareing, winner of the RNLI’s Coast to Cobbles prize draw has shared her heartwarming reason for entering and why the trip aboard the Shannon class lifeboat meant so much.
As part of the RNLI’s 200th anniversary celebrations, the charity offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win a journey aboard a Shannon class lifeboat. The winner, Diane Wareing, has shared the touching reasons why winning the trip was extra special for her.
Diane unexpectedly lost her twin brother Nick in April 2024. Nick and Diane’s family have a long-standing relationship with the RNLI. Their great great grandfather – John Whiteside - was a crew member aboard Lytham lifeboat Charles Biggs and attended the 1886 Mexico disaster. John survived the disaster and inspired Nick to volunteer for the lifesaving charity years later.
On Thursday 9 October, 2024 a special RNLI time capsule made the final stretch of its 11-day journey to Salford Quays, with Diane onboard.
The 9 October is especially significant for Diane, as it’s her and twin brother Nick’s birthday. Diane said:
‘When I saw the prize draw and noticed the trip on the lifeboat was happening on mine and my late twin brother Nick’s birthday, I knew it was meant to be.
‘After losing Nick unexpectedly in April this year, the support my sister Jan and I received from his friends at Lytham St Annes Lifeboat Station meant so much. Nick was known by his fellow volunteers at Lytham St Annes station as ‘bucket man’ as he always had a bucket in hand to raise funds for the charity.
‘The RNLI was a huge part of Nick’s life, he left a donation to the charity in his will. A crew member even did the eulogy at his funeral.
‘The trip from Liverpool to Salford Quays on a lifeboat would’ve been a dream come true for Nick. The RNLI was such a big part of my brother’s life, I feel as if this brought me even closer to him.
‘It was my first birthday without him, but I know he was by my side the whole way.’
The Shannon class all-weather lifeboat has been powered by a biofuel – Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) – supplied free of charge by one of the RNLI’s fuel suppliers, Certas Energy.
The time capsule arrived in Greater Manchester in time for the anniversary of the world’s first street collection on 10 October.
The finale event on Thursday 10 October, saw lifeboat crews and lifeguards heritage and modern lifeboats and lots more covering the RNLI’s 200-year history, descend on the Media City Piazza in Salford Quays for the day.
The relay saw a specially designed time capsule pass from lifeboat to lifeboat, with each RNLI crew given the opportunity to add something before it is put on display in Lytham St Annes Lifeboat Museum.
The event marked the RNLI’s 200th anniversary in the North West, commemorating the region’s contribution to the charity’s two centuries of saving lives at sea.
Sophie Wood, RNLI Community Manager said: ‘This event was a fantastic way to close our 200th anniversary year in the North West. We commemorated the lifesavers of the past that have contributed to our history, celebrated our crew today, and hopefully have inspired the next generation of supporters, lifeboat volunteers and fundraisers.
‘For 200 years, we’ve relied on the generosity of everyday people – from seafaring crew to fundraisers and supporters, they’re all lifesavers and make the RNLI in the North West what it is, so this is for them.
‘It’s important that we’re connecting our people in this way and collecting mementos from each station to be sealed away for fifty years, so those crew that we inspire on this journey can look back in 2074, when the charity is 250 years old.’
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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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