St Bees RNLI remember founder member

His previous experience with small boats made him an obvious choice to be the initial Helm on the first D class and then the C class lifeboat. Jack remained as crew and then launch authority until the early 1990s.

On one memorable occasion early in the station's history on a snowy Sunday in April, the regular cattle boat sailing from Londonderry to Silloth had come to the aid of a small fishing dinghy. In deteriorating seas and snowy conditions, Jack and the crew launched the small D180 lifeboat and met the cattle boat halfway between St Bees and the Isle of Man. In rough seas Jack successfully navigated the lifeboat alongside the much larger commercial vessel, which by now had the small fishing dinghy and the two crew on board.

Despite the very high sides on the cattle boat, Jack and the crew managed to transfer the two fishermen and dinghy onto the lifeboat. The journey back was made even more difficult as it was now snowing heavily and getting dark. With all the difficulties Jack and the lifeboat crew faced, they were still able to reunite the two fishermen with their very concerned families.

During his time, Jack was involved in many rescues including broken down yachts, small inflatables and injured crew requiring hospital treatment.

It is thanks to volunteers like Jack and his colleagues that we have a lifeboat station at St Bees today.