Loyal Max marks four decades with the RNLI
As a young boy of ten Max Gilligan was so inspired by the RNLI he used to race down to Selsey Lifeboat Station to help out whenever the maroons were fired to alert the town there was a rescue underway.
He would also accompany the boat crew out on the Canadian Pacific lifeboat to the then manned Owers Light vessel to deliver their Christmas turkey.
Max eventually joined the Selsey crew 17 years later in 1983 when he was 27 and for the next 38 years he volunteered on the station’sinshoreandall-weather lifeboatsuntil2021whenhehung up his wellies from life on board.
However, Max was determined to continue volunteering for the charity that saves lives at seaandbecameadeputylaunch Authority (responsible for helping to launch the lifeboats) as wellasremainingasthestation’s Lifeboat Press Officer (a role he began in 2014), publicising the crew’s shouts and stories in the local media and station’s social media channels.
Maxsaid:“duringthesixtiesi spentmostofmyschoolholidays downonthebeach,mainlyinthe lifeboatstation,iftherewerejobs to do, I’d do them. I especially remember cleaning the brass, alongside the mechanic Ron Wells, as the old boats had loads.
"All I ever wanted was a Guernsey sweater with RNLI across the chest, but I was told it was only for crew. So, my reward was trips out on the lifeboat on courtesy visits and the Owers light ship. In 1969 I even got to go to Littlehampton to pick up the new lifeboat Charles Henry O.N 1015,butwenevergotthereaswe were called to a yacht in trouble off the Bill and ended up towing it to Chichester Harbour.
"I eventually got my sweater and went on to proudly serve on the crew for 38 years with some truly memorable times with some great fellow crewmembers.”
Max recently marked 40 years of volunteering for the RNLI and was awarded with a long service medal by the station’s Lifeboat Operations Manager Tony Delahunty. Tony said: “Maxhasanincrediblerecordof service for Selsey, not only as a crewmemberonavarietyoflifeboats, but also in his role as DLA and as the station’s press officer. Asfarbackasicanrememberhe was always taking photos for the stationandhashadamassiveimpactworkingwithbothlocaland national media. He has also embracedallthesocialmediachannelswithhisusualenthusiasm!”
Whenmaxfirstjoinedselsey he served on the Tyne class lifeboat, City of London, which, as its number indicated, was the first of its class – 47-001. He also servedonthestation’snewshannon lifeboat Denise and Eric 13-20 which was a big change. He also served on the inshore lifeboat until he was 55 and remained a crew member on allweather lifeboats until 2021.
Inhisyearsonthecrewhehas builtupanimpressivecollection andhistoryofthestationincluding an uninterrupted record of all shouts and services since he joined in 1983. Max has always been the unofficial station photographerandwasinstrumental in ensuring the volunteer crew had a means of recording what they did by making sure a camerawasplacedontheboatforrecordingpurposes.overtheyears he has built up a great working relationship with local and national media outlets, helping to raise the profile of the RNLI and Selsey lifeboat in particular.