
Penarth RNLI welcome the 200th Anniversary scroll and a Porsche 911
As part of Penarth RNLI’s 200-year celebrations on Friday 20 September 2024, a representative volunteer from the lifeboat station will be signing a scroll which is travelling the length and breadth of the country.
A scroll has travelled through every RNLI region and country in 2024. On 4 March 2024 – the RNLI’s 200th anniversary – the scroll started its route at the Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey. It will continue travelling until October 2024, when it will end its journey in Douglas, Isle of Man, the former home of Sir William Hillary.
On Friday 20 September, it arrives at Penarth RNLI Lifeboat Station when representatives from the RNLI lifesaving community will gather to commemorate, celebrate and inspire by taking their turn to sign the scroll.
The sentiment of the scroll is that it represents the RNLI’s One Crew with someone being nominated from each area within the lifeboat station to sign the scroll on behalf of their community.
The scroll carries the words of our one crew pledge that spells out our commitment as volunteers and staff to honour RNLI founder Sir William Hillary’s mission almost 200 years ago to save lives at sea.
Beneath the pledge, printed in seven languages (English, Irish Gaelic, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Manx, and Cornish), it says: ‘Signed in 2024 by representatives of the RNLI’s lifesaving communities, on behalf of all who strive to save every one.’
The scroll has been made bespoke, involving RNLI craftspeople and using materials of significance to the charity. The wooden handle has been made by a carpenter from the RNLI’s All-weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole, where the charity builds and maintains its all-weather lifeboats, using wood from an old flagpole from Ramsey lifeboat station on the Isle of Man. Staff and apprentices from the RNLI’s Inshore Lifeboat Centre on the Isle of Wight, have made the protective fibreglass casing and carefully set the scroll spindles and accessories into the case.
To emphasise the integral involvement and importance of the community, a special 200th Anniversary Service at St Augustine’s on Sunday 22 September at 10.45am. Rev Mark Jones is kindly conducting the service when the Penarth RNLI Standard is to be processed in at the beginning, and out at the end. There will be a retiring collection for the RNLI should anyone wish to contribute.
Penarth Station Manager of Operations, Jason Dunlop said:
‘In our 200-year history the RNLI has evolved in many ways, but the one thing that has remained the same is the constant connection with the community and the dedication and effort of all of our volunteers, that ultimately means our crews can go out and continue to save lives at sea as they have done for the past two centuries.’
Following on from the special arrival and signing of the RNLI 200 scroll, Penarth RNLI will have a visit from Belinda and James and their RNLI-911 'The Last Blast!' Porsche. They are driving clockwise around the whole of the British Isles and Ireland including Shetland, Orkney, Outer & Inner Hebrides, Isle of Man, Isles of Scilly, Isle of Wight, Alderney, Guernsey and Jersey, visiting all 238 RNLI lifeboat stations in 911 hours.
They will be arriving at Penarth Station at 10.55am on Tuesday 24 September. They will be with visiting for a mere 20 minutes before heading off to continue their journey (hence the short stop).
We encourage our volunteers and any supporters to attend the events and we look forward to our community joining together to commemorate the 200th Anniversary as one crew.
Notes to editors
To learn more about Penarth Lifeboat Station please visit: https://www.facebook.com/RNLIPenarth
Photo Credits:
https://rnli.org/support-us/volunteer
One Crew video can be found at the below link
Media contacts
For more information please contact Penarth RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer, Nick White on
[email protected] or 07818680667
Alternatively you can contact Claire Fitzpatrick-Smith, Regional Communications Manager on [email protected] or 07977 728 315 or the RNLI press office on 01202 336789 / [email protected].
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.