Celebrations of a lifeboat charity’s 200th anniversary continue with the signing of a special pledge at a Cumbrian station.
St Bees RNLI Lifeboat Station representatives took part in this ‘relay-style’ scroll signing on September 14, with the intent for it to be passed via RNLI sites around the UK and Ireland, being signed by representatives at each location on its route.
The pledge promises to save lives regardless, and to ‘face the storm together’, and is printed in seven languages – English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Manx, and Cornish.
At St Bees, the scroll was signed by branch president Raymond Wilkinson, helm and treasurer Alastair Graham, fundraising guild member Christine Lewis, launch authority Colin Wadey and training coordinator Joe Raymond.
READ MORE: St Bees RNLI celebrates 60 years of inshore lifeboats
Dick Beddows, lifeboat operations manager, said prior to the event: “The lifeboat crew and their families will be there to witness the signing.
“The event will also serve as a way to thank the crew for their commitment and all the hard work they do to support the RNLI’s goal to save lives at sea.
“We are also holding a celebratory dinner at the Seacote Hotel in St Bees on October 12 to celebrate 200 years of the RNLI.”
Tickets are available on St Bees RNLI’s Facebook page.
Over seven months, the five-metre-long scroll will pass through 240 RNLI locations around the UK and Ireland before finishing its journey in October at Douglas on the Isle of Man, which was home to the RNLI’s founder, Sir William Hillary.
By this time, it will carry around 700 signatures.
The scroll began its journey on Monday 4 March 2024, at a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey to mark the charity’s official 200th anniversary, where it was signed by RNLI president, HRH The Duke of Kent, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Dean of Westminster, the RNLI’s chair and chief executive.
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