Long-serving Hunstanton RNLI volunteer made an MBE in New Year Honours
A long-serving Norfolk lifeboat volunteer has been made an MBE in the King's New Year Honours List after almost 50 years of volunteering for the charity that saves lives at sea.
Victor Dade joined the crew at Hunstanton RNLI in 1979, when the station re-opened with a D-Class inshore lifeboat. This came after the station had been moth-balled in the 1930s.
He signed up as a tractor driver at the age of 17, soon after starting as a farm worker on the nearby Le Strange Estate in Old Hunstanton, where he still works.
Victor, now 64, would go on to crew on both the station's fast inshore lifeboats and its hovercraft, which arrived in 2002.
He took part in some of the station's more noteworthy rescues, including flying the hovercraft which saved three young girls who had found themselves cut off by the tide at Brancaster in 2013.
During his time with the RNLI, Victor been awarded three RNLI bronze medals for gallantry. The first came in 1985 when he helped save the life of a windsurfer.
He was awarded the second three years later for his role in rescuing the crew of a fishing vessel in pitch darkness and gale force winds.
In 1990, he was given his third for his role in rescuing the crew of a yacht aground taking a beating from the stormy conditions.
During his time with the RNLI, Victor been awarded three RNLI bronze medals for gallantry. The first came in 1985 when he helped save the life of a windsurfer.
He was awarded the second three years later for his role in rescuing the crew of a fishing vessel in pitch darkness and gale force winds.
In 1990, he was given his third for his role in rescuing the crew of a yacht aground taking a beating from the stormy conditions.
Victor, who still turns out in all weathers for shore crew duties and helps maintain the station's tractor and craft, said: 'The RNLI was just something I fancied joining, so I joined as a tractor driver.
'A few weeks later, I ended up being crew on the D-Class and the boats that followed it and then flying the hovercraft after that came.'
Asked which rescue was the most memorable throughout his 46-year career, he said: 'The three girls we saved at Brancaster, that was a close one.'
Victor flew the hovercraft which rescued twins Daisy and Molly Cole, then aged 13 and their 23-year-old sister Zoe after they became cut off by the tide at Brancaster in 2013.
Hunstanton Flyer arrived just as the tired trio began losing their grip on a buoy they were clinging to in the fierce current.
Daisy, Molly and Zoe were all plucked from the sea and returned safely to shore by the crew.
Victor would later go on to meet Daisy, Molly and Zoe for the first time more than 10 years after he flew the hovercraft which rescued them, when the family came to the station in 2024.
The girls' mum Stacey O'Donnell, who ran that year's London Marathon to raise funds for the RNLI, said she would have lost her entire family that day were it not for the crew, one of whom leapt into the sea after one of her daughters was carried away by the tide.
Asked what has kept him going for almost half a century, Victor added: 'I just enjoy being part of it, I like the people, I like mingling with the crew.
'I'm hoping to keep going until I've done my 50 years, I'll hopefully have reached the age of 70 by then.'
Victor, who is normally clad in his trademark hi-vis and hat around the lifeboat station admitted he may have to rethink his clobber when he goes to collect his honour.
'That's at the Palace so that'll be a suit job,' he said. 'So I'm guessing I'd better go buy one.'
Victor was one of six RNLI volunteers included in the King's New Year Honours List.
Peter Sparkes, the charity's chief executive, said: 'My sincere congratulations to these six worthy volunteers and their families.
'We are very aware they wouldn't be able to do what they do for the RNLI without the support of their families and friends whose lives are often disrupted when our volunteers answer the call for help.'
Editor's Notes
Beer cost 50p a pint and a loaf of bread cost 25p when Victor Dade joined the RNLI.
Petrol was less than £1 a gallon, you could snap up a new Ford Cortina for £3,500 and the likes of Pink Floyd, The Police, Cliff Richard and Blondie were topping the charts.
While the world has changed since Victor signed up, the charity still depends on the dedication and courage of its volunteer crews as it has for more than two centuries.
They include Hunstanton RNLI, which covers The Wash and parts of the North Norfolk coast from its base on Sea Lane.
Like more than 230 lifeboat stations around the coast of the UK and Ireland, their work would not be possible without the kindness of those who donate to the charity that saves at sea, or remember it in their wills.
RNLI Images
Picture of Victor attached, along with the twins and their sister he rescued in 2013.
Image of RNLI hovercraft Hunstanton Flyer also attached.
Please credit all pictures RNLI/Chris Bishop
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.
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