Lifeboatman set to retire
A lifeboat volunteer of 38 years reflects on his decades of service as he hangs up his wellies one last time.
After 38 years of service as a crew member with his local RNLI station, a Selsey lifeboatman has hung up his yellow wellies.
Max Gilligan, 65, was first involved with the Selsey lifeboat as a ten-year-old, when the 46ft Watson class lifeboat Canadian Pacific was on station.
He was often found racing down to the station to watch and help out when the maroons were fired, helping to open up the boathouse doors, helping with the recovery of the anchors used for rehousing and maintaining the brass fixtures and fittings on the boat – as he says, ‘it was his thing’.
Max would accompany the boat crew out on the Canadian Pacific to the thenmanned Owers Light Vessel at Christmas to deliver their turkey.
He joined the crew in 1983, aged 27, and quickly became a valued member of the team.
“I’ve always wanted to do it from a very early age,” Max said. “I’ve had a really good time. It’s been fun all the way through. I’ve met a lot of people and done a lot of good jobs. It’s been good, very enjoyable.”
Colleagues have described Max as a steadfast, reliable crew mate, who was always at the forefront of the crew, and one of the first to volunteer or be chosen for all tasks.
In his years on the crew he built up an impressive collection and history of the station, including an uninterrupted record of all shouts and services since he joined in 1983.
Max, the unofficial station photographer, was instrumental in ensuring the volunteer crew had a means of recording what they did by making sure that a camera was placed on the boat for recording purposes.
Since the advent of the digital camera and the trusty helmet camera, he has become even more vocal in ensuring that the crew take the cameras to show what the organisation does.
Max received the Freedom of the City of London after 20 years’ service and has just been given an Excellence in Volunteering award by the RNLI for his assistance in the latest series of Saving Lives at Sea, which aired on the BBC.
Max will continue as Selsey Lifeboat Station’s press officer, a role he has been taking on alongside his crew role since 2014.
He said: “I’m not fully retiring [but] crew wise, I’m getting a bit old to get on the boats.”
Tony Delahunty, lifeboat operations manager at Selsey Lifeboat Station, said: “On behalf of myself, the crew and the RNLI, I would like to thank Max for his 38 years at sea, as part of the Selsey RNLI lifeboat crew.
“I would also like to acknowledge the level of commitment and dedication required to serve for this length of time.
“His presence at sea will be missed, but I am delighted that Max will continue as press officer – his reports and media work both locally and nationally have raised the profile of the station.”