
RNLI 200 'Coast to Cobbles' weekend and Paver Project unveiling
Lytham St Annes RNLI to host special 200th anniversary events during first weekend in October (4-6).
On Friday 4 October 2024 the Semper Fidelis Lodge of the Mark Master Masons are bringing their diorama and presentation of the Mexico Disaster to our All-weather Lifeboat House on South Promenade to raise funds for Lytham St Annes RNLI. It was so well received when the Masons enacted it in 2019, that they kindly offered to repeat it for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the RNLI (2024). Tickets are available from both our Souvenir Shops at Central Beach (FY8 5LD) and at South Promenade (FY8 1SJ) and the presentation starts at 7.30pm.
The Masons have been keen and long term supporters of the Lytham St Annes RNLI, donating towards the cost of the Shannon class Lifeboat Barbara Anne and many other items of equipment over the years.
Also arriving at some point between Friday and Saturday afternoon, the station will see the arrival of the special North West bicentenary 'Coast to Cobbles' time capsule relay, in the which will have local lifeboat station items added before it is passed on to eventually arrive in Salford Quays by lifeboat.
The 'Coast to Cobbles' event sees a lifeboat move down the North West coast from Silloth to Liverpool, where it will stay overnight before heading up the Manchester Ship Canal to commemorate the first Charity Street Collection held in Manchester and Salford in 1891.
This start of charity street collections was as a direct result of the Mexico Disaster in the Ribble Estuary in 1886, the worst disaster to befall the lifeboat service when 27 crew from the lifeboats from St Annes and Southport lost their lives in an attempt to save 12 shipwrecked seamen. These seamen were saved by the Lytham Lifeboat.
On Saturday 5 October 2024 there we will be the Coast To Cobbles, Lytham St Annes: Paving unveiling event. This is where the newly engraved pavers will be unveiled in front of the All-weather Lifeboat House from the 200th Anniversary Paver Project.
Over 200 people have donated to have a loved one's name, or their own, remembered on the pathway from the boathouse to the slipway as a permanent feature. Every time the Barbara Anne all-weather lifeboat launches, she will pass over the names of these supporters.
Station Branch Chairman Digby Moulden said:
'All are welcome to support these special events in our 200th year of saving lives at sea. We'd love to see as many people as possible from our communities coming down to join in the events and celebrations. As we approach the final stretch of our anniversary year, we still want to come together and commemorate our past, celebrate where we are today and inspire the next generation of lifesavers, so the RNLI can continue to save lives at sea for another 200 years.'
RNLI Media Contacts
For more information please contact David Forshaw, Lifeboat Press Officer on
[email protected].
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.
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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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
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