Frequently asked questions

Supporters are responsible for checking the name before submitting it to ensure that it is spelt correctly, contains the correct details, and is submitted as they wish the name to appear on the decal of the lifeboat. In the event of a name being submitted incorrectly please contact us as soon as possible at [email protected] and we will endeavour to help resolve it.

You are welcome to add more than one name to the lifeboat, however due to the way the system is set up you would need to do this in separate transactions. We are unable to accept joint names e.g. ‘The Smiths’, ‘John and Joan Smith’.

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that they will be next to each other. In general the names will be arranged in the order they were submitted by supporters. However, the names will be arranged in a way that best fits within the shape of the decal.

Your loved one’s name will appear alongside thousands of other dearly missed loved ones inside a decal making up the letters and numbers on the lifeboat.

You will only receive a certificate if you provided us with your email address when submitting your loved one's name. We aim to send out all certificates within 8 weeks of the submission. We send these certificates out by email, as a PDF attachment. These often end up in spam/junk folders. If you still have not received your certificate after 8 weeks, please contact us using the details below.

If you haven’t received a confirmation email within 24 hours and have checked your junk/spam please contact us by email [email protected] or phone our Supporter Experience team on 0300 300 0061 (UK) / 01 511 9871 (Ireland) / (+)44 1202 336395 (outside of UK and Ireland). 

Anstruther Lifeboat Station is due to receive their new Shannon in 2023, and this boat was the best available lifeboat that could be used for Launch a Memory. Anstruther is currently having a new station built, which means they can house a newer, more technically advanced lifeboat to continue their lifesaving work, and to help keep the crew safe.

The boat will be available for the public to see on several occasions. If you have any questions about our station, or your lifeboat, please contact [email protected]. As you can imagine, our volunteer crew at Anstruther have a lot to juggle alongside being on call 24 hours a day - so we’d be really grateful if you could avoid contacting the station directly.

When the boat is being built in our All-weather Lifeboat Centre (ALC) building in Poole, it will be available to see as part of the ALC tours during the later build stage. Please note that the decal with all the names of loved ones sent in to Launch a Memory will not be applied until after this build stage. Please also note visibility of the boat during its construction will be partially obstructed by the bays due to the nature of it being a working factory. To find out more about the tours and for images inside the building please see the All-Weather Lifeboat Centre page. 

The lifeboat is scheduled to arrive at Anstruther Lifeboat Station in 2023, but the exact date is yet to be confirmed.

When the lifeboat arrives at Anstruther station in 2023, there is the possibility that supporters will be able to visit the lifeboat and the lifeboat station, but this is yet to be confirmed. It is unlikely that you will be able to get close enough to the lifeboat to read the names on the decal and we cannot guarantee that the lifeboat will be visible to view all the time as it may be involved in a rescue, training, maintenance or other activity. However, there will be opportunities to see photographs and videos of the boat through our social media channels, on our Launch a Memory website page and in supporter publications including Lifeboat magazine.

We also hope there will be opportunities to see the lifeboat in Poole (England) before the boat leaves for Anstruther. We will update supporters when we have more definitive timings.

The Wells lifeboat, Duke of Edinburgh, is due to be completed in summer 2022, and will be arriving to the station towards the end of 2022. With a new station also being completed, there might be the opportunity to view the lifeboat, however this will not be confirmed until both the station and lifeboat builds have been completed. We will keep supporters updated with news of any opportunities to view the lifeboat, so please keep an eye on our update emails, on our website and on social media.

Invergordon station is pleased to now be able to welcome visitors once again. All station visits are conducted by volunteers who take time out of their busy schedules to welcome supporters. Please keep an eye on the Invergordon Facebook page for further updates. Please note, visiting the station does not guarantee that you will be able to see the Launch a Memory lifeboat, Agnes A P Barr.

St Christopher is now on service at Clifden station, and will be permanently kept at a mooring in Clifden Bay. The boat will be visible from the shore a small distance away. We cannot guarantee the lifeboat will always be visible as it may be involved in a rescue, training, maintenance or other activity. Due to the way the lifeboat is moored, Clifden cannot facilitate viewing for the public, however there will be a full-sized version of the lifeboat decal on a permanent sign outside the Lifeboat Station that supporters are welcome to come and look at any time.

If you haven’t received a confirmation email within 24 hours and have checked your junk/spam please contact us by email [email protected] or phone our Supporter Experience team on 0300 300 0061 (UK) / 01 511 9871 (Ireland) / (+)44 1202 336395 (outside of UK and Ireland) Monday-Friday 08:00-18:00.

We aim to send out all Launch a Memory certificates within 8 weeks of the submission. We send these certificates out by email, as a PDF attachment. We often find that our emails end up in our supporter’s junk/spam folders, so it’s worth checking there if you haven’t already. If you are still missing a certificate then our apologies for this, please contact us at [email protected] and we can get this emailed out to you.

The lifeboat is scheduled to arrive at Anstruther Lifeboat Station in 2023, but the exact date is yet to be confirmed. If you provided an email address, we will keep you updated with progress of the build through our regular updated emails.

A Shannon class lifeboat is the best suited lifeboat for Launch a Memory, and is the class of lifeboat used for the previous 3 campaigns. There are a limited number of Shannon lifeboats built each year, and the locations are determined by which stations are most in need of a new lifeboat. Unfortunately, there was no Welsh station due to received a Shannon in the next year.

As stated in the Terms and Conditions, any donations to the Launch a Memory campaign go into RNLI general funds. The Anstruther Launch a Memory lifeboat is kindly funded by a legacy left by a supporter.