Iconic bridge provides backdrop to RNLI’s bicentenary celebrations
Volunteers from Queensferry Lifeboat Station have joined others around the country in celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
A Service of Thanksgiving held at Westminster Abbey on Monday to mark the charity’s bicentenary was attended by lifeboat operations manager David Smart and deputy launch authority Maggie Quayle from the Queensferry base.
The occasion was particularly poignant for the local team, falling on the same date as the anniversary of the Forth Bridge, which provides the backdrop to their station.
David, who has served as a local volunteer for 36 years, said: “Many congratulations to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution on the occasion of its 200th anniversary.
“The RNLI have been saving lives for 200 years and Queensferry Lifeboat Station are proud to have carried on the lifesaving tradition for over a quarter of this time, since being established at Hawes Pier in 1967.”
Adele Allan, the station’s press officer, said: “Every RNLI station has their own piece of history, unique story or significant facts. At Queensferry, we are particularly fortunate, with our station situated under the Forth Bridge, a Unesco World Heritage Site.
“To make it even more special, the RNLI shares its anniversary with the iconic structure which was opened on March 4, 1890. Unesco have also formally recognised the RNLI’s 200th anniversary.”
The RNLI was founded in a London tavern on March 4, 1824 following an appeal from Sir William Hillary, who lived on the Isle of Man and witnessed many shipwrecks.
Two centuries have seen vast developments in the lifeboats and kit used by the charity’s lifesavers – from the early oar-powered vessels to today’s technology-packed boats, which are now built in-house by the charity; and from the rudimentary cork lifejackets of the 1850s to the full protective kit each crew member is now issued with.
The RNLI’s lifesaving reach and remit has also developed over the course of 200 years.
Today, it operates 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, including four on the River Thames, and has seasonal lifeguards on more than 240 lifeguarded beaches around the UK. It designs and builds its own lifeboats and runs domestic and international water safety programmes.
RNLI chief executive Mark Dowie said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to be at the helm of the RNLI for the past five years, and to see the charity reach its bicentenary.
“For a charity to have survived 200 years based on the time and commitment of volunteers, and the sheer generosity of the public donating to fund it, is truly remarkable.
“It is through the courage and dedication of its incredible people that the RNLI has survived the tests of time, including tragic losses, funding challenges, two world wars and, more recently, a global pandemic.”
It is through the courage and dedication of its incredible people that the RNLI has survived the tests of time