Your RNLI Spring 2026

Welcome

While those in the northern hemisphere gear up for spring, those in the southern hemisphere are winding down for autumn. Wherever you are, thank you for being there for our courageous lifesavers, all year round.

Facing the unknown. Changing with the times. Rising to challenges. Brave RNLI lifesavers are always ready for anything because you have their back.

Thanks to kind people like you and Margate lifeboat crew, Second World War veteran Robert Fox got to live his tomorrows and give others theirs. Read his courageous story on page 10.

Thanks to you, Selsey lifeboat crew were ready to rescue long-lost brothers Bill and Matthew. Now the brothers get to sail, or rather ‘seize’, another day. Read their amazing story on page 6.

And thanks to you, RNLI lifeguards in the UK and Jersey are ready for another busy season in their 25th anniversary year. Read about a special partnership to keep them safer in the sun on page 9. What would you like to read about? This is your RNLI after all! Please email your suggestions to your_rnli@rnli.org.uk.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this issue and feel proud of seeing the lifesaving you make possible.

Vicki Lovegrove-Fray

Your RNLI Team

Email: your_rnli@rnli.org.uk

WE CAN’T

DO IT WITHOUT PEOPLE LIKE YOU:

How would you like to hear from us? We’re so grateful for the support you have shown for the RNLI – it all helps save lives. But if you would rather not hear from us, or would like to change how we contact you, please get in touch. Just call 0300 300 9918 (from the UK), 01 511 9837 (from Ireland), or +44 1202 663234 (from any other country) on weekdays, 8am–6pm, go to RNLI.org/preferences or write to our Supporter Experience Team, RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, BH15 1HZ.

Cover photo: A procession of RNLI lifeboats led by Littlehampton’s D and B class inshore lifeboats with Selsey’s Shannon and Shoreham Harbour’s Tamar class all-weather lifeboats behind Credit: Nicholas Leach

Lifetime Achievement Award

In 2001, the RNLI trialled a lifeguard service on beaches in south-west England. Today, 25 years later, RNLI lifeguards patrol over 245 beaches around the UK and Jersey, keeping thousands of beachgoers safe through their proactivity and vigilance.

One person who has been an integral part of the lifeguard service since its inception is Peter Dawes, RNLI General Manager of Lifeguard Operations. In October 2025, Peter was awarded the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) Vladimir Maksimov Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award recognises Peter’s outstanding contribution to maritime safety and rescue over the past 50 years.

Read more about Peter’s story at RNLI.org/PeterDawes . And keep an eye out for ways you can celebrate the 25th anniversary of RNLI lifeguards throughout the year!

Peter is presented with the award by RNLI Chief Executive Peter Sparkes

One Crew, One Plan: RNLI 2026–30

The RNLI’s lifesaving work is as vital as ever – but the way people are using the coast and the water is changing. Most RNLI rescues are now closer to shore rather than out to sea. This means the charity needs to evolve so that we have the most appropriate and safest lifeboats in the right places to save the greatest number of lives.

In September 2025, RNLI Chief Executive Peter Sparkes announced the charity’s new 5-Year Plan and the 2040 Lifeboat Fleet Strategy. The plan explains why we need to evolve in greater detail, what we need to do, and how we will make it happen – together as One Crew. Find out more at RNLI.org/OneCrewOnePlan.

A Royal visit for Appledore

RNLI President HRH The Duke of Kent made a special visit to Appledore Lifeboat Station in November last year to mark the station’s 200th anniversary.

Appledore’s courageous volunteers began saving lives off the north Devon coast on 28 February 1825 when the station received the first RNLI-commissioned working lifeboat. Together, The Volunteer and its crew saved 80 lives.

The RNLI’s 5-Year Plan will help us deliver a sustainable, future-fit lifesaving service

The Duke met with Appledore RNLI’s volunteer lifesavers, including its lifeboat and shore crew, fundraisers, shop and water safety volunteers. Matt Whitley, Lead Lifeguard Supervisor for north Devon, also attended to explain the invaluable role of RNLI lifeguards. His Royal Highness presented a special 200th anniversary certificate to the station to commemorate the visit, and Coxswain Simon McCarthy presented The Duke with a framed 200th anniversary picture signed by the crew.

HRH The Duke of Kent with Appledore RNLI volunteers, Lord-Lieutenant of Devon David Furdson, RNLI Chief Executive Peter Sparkes and two sea cadets

Photos (pages 2–3): RNLI/Nathan Williams, twonamesphotography

Every time you use a postage stamp on a prepaid RNLI envelope in the UK, you save the RNLI money. In 2025, you helped to save over £98,000 –that could train 72 crew members for a year! Thank you

RNLI TO THE RESCUE

Thanks to your kindness, and their courage, RNLI lifesavers are ready for anything

Run aground

GREAT YARMOUTH AND GORLESTON | 10 AUGUST 2025

When a yacht with engine failure was pushed onto a sandbank, Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI’s inshore lifeboat volunteers made numerous attempts to rescue its four crew, but the challenging conditions put them at risk of running aground too. With the yacht beginning to break up and the casualties unable to get into its life raft, they set adrift on a tender. The lifeboat crew then got them safely into the D class before transferring them onto the independent Caister all-weather lifeboat. 1

2

Sinking trawler

CASTLETOWNBERE | 29 OCTOBER 2025

The crew of a 13m fishing trawler called in a mayday when they hit a post inside the harbour and began rapidly taking on water. Luckily, Castletownbere’s volunteer crew were on scene in just 2 minutes having been on a training exercise. With one fisherman in a life raft and the remaining three still onboard the trawler, the lifeboat crew got them all safely onto the Severn class all-weather lifeboat. The volunteers tried to save the trawler too using a salvage pump, but the vessel sank within 15 minutes.

World Cup qualifier shout

ISLAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2025

As Scottish football fans watched the much-anticipated World Cup qualifier match, Islay RNLI volunteers launched to help the skipper of a yacht that was dragging its anchor. Once on scene, conditions were too hazardous in the narrow and shallow bay for the Severn class all-weather lifeboat or its small inflatable Y boat to reach the yacht. So the lifeboat crew stood by while the casualty was winched to safety by the Coastguard rescue helicopter team from Prestwick.

‘Thank you all’

TREARDDUR BAY | 2 NOVEMBER 2025

‘Thank you somehow seems inadequate but thank you! What amazing people you all are – you made me feel safe and, I think, saved my life. So, once again, thank you all.’

These are the heartfelt words on the note pictured below that was left at Trearrdur Bay Lifeboat Station along with some cakes.

They were written by a woman who had been rescued by Trearddur Bay volunteers just 2 days before. She’d got into difficulty while swimming. Luckily, a member of the public spotted her and called 999 for the Coastguard. In a choppy sea with hazardous rocks and a reef, the B class lifeboat crew managed to reach her and pull her aboard. After assessing her condition, the lifeboat crew liaised with the Coastguard for the best course of action, which was to winch her into a rescue helicopter and take her to hospital.

‘This was a challenging shout due to the sea state and location of the casualty. When we hand casualties over to the care of the paramedics, we may never know the outcome, so to receive such a thoughtful note is heartwarming.’

On paper, it was a trip that was meant to be. But on the water – for Bill and Matthew – things went south, fast

Half-brothers,

Bill and Matthew,

still

share a love of boats and the sea

For Bill Turnbull, getting a boat wasn’t just about adventure. It offered a chance to bond with the sibling who – until a few years ago – he had never met. ‘When I was younger, my dad had hinted that I had a half-brother out there somewhere,’ explains Bill. ‘When my mum died in 2021, I began searching for him.

‘The force of the impact knocked me clean off my feet – I was like a rag doll’

BILL TURNBULL

‘The fact that they’re volunteers is amazing. They’re the bravest men I’ve ever met, and they don’t even get paid’

BILL TURNBULL

‘The first genealogy agency I tried drew a blank, but then I tried AncestryDNA. Unbeknown to me, my adopted half-brother, Matthew, had himself been trying – for 15 years – to trace his family. The adoption agency had put him in touch with his birth mother, but his father wasn’t traceable.’

When Matthew also turned to Ancestry, both siblings were informed – on the very same day – that their DNA had matched. They later discovered they shared a love of bikes, boats and the sea, and are now making up for lost time. ‘I lost my sister when she was 30, so it’s nice to have a sibling again,’ says Bill.

Seize the day

Despite neither living close to the coast, Bill and Matthew decided to buy a boat. ‘I have brittle bone disease,’ Bill reveals. ‘But I don’t let that hold me back.’ When they came across a 10m yacht for sale, the name of it sealed the deal. It was called Carpe Diem. ‘Seize the day’ summed up Bill’s approach to life. ‘And the clincher was that the man selling it was called Mr Angel!’

Sailing it back from Weymouth to Norfolk after a refit, Bill was at the helm when a rogue wave threw him across the boat, injuring his leg. ‘Matthew took over as I went below, but another wave hit, flinging me into the bulkhead and giving me a blow to the head. The force of the impact knocked me clean off my feet, and I’m 6ft4 and 21 stone! I was like a rag doll.

‘Soon after, the engine started spluttering. The yacht was also taking on water – it was all going wrong. I used to work on an oil rig, and I have never seen the sea turn so quickly. Neither had Matthew, who is an experienced sailor.’

A leap of faith

‘I don’t recall much after that, but Matthew had called for help. When the RNLI arrived, I didn’t know how they were going to get to us due to the rocking of the yacht. Somehow, Craig – one of the lifeboat crew members – found the courage to leap onto a narrow 6-inch strip surrounding the boat. He checked me over and stayed with us as the lifeboat towed us into Chichester.

‘I think the fact that they’re volunteers is amazing. They’re the bravest men I’ve ever met, and they don’t even get paid! The yacht is now all fixed up and Matthew and I are determined to set out again. Hopefully, next time, the angels will be smiling down on us.’

continued ...

‘I’ve witnessed how quickly things can go from bad to worse at sea’

CRAIG SERGEANT, VOLUNTEER CREW MEMBER, SELSEY RNLI

‘When we arrived, the yacht wasn’t anchored and was broadside on to the waves – never pleasant for those onboard. As one of Selsey’s casualty-caretrained crew members, I was tasked to go aboard. It can be a tricky manoeuvre. After several aborted attempts, I successfully made the jump, taking care to avoid the swinging boom.

‘Satisfied that the yacht wasn’t actually sinking, I assessed Bill’s injuries. They weren’t too serious. But given his condition, it wouldn’t have been safe to attempt to transfer him to the lifeboat, so I stayed onboard as my crew mates towed us to Chichester Harbour. I assessed Bill every 5 minutes.

‘This is my 21st year on the crew, and I’ve witnessed how quickly things can go from bad to worse at sea. Fortunately, the pair had a VHF radio, and Matthew did the right thing in using it and requesting assistance. Every crew member would rather be stood down than called out too late.’

IS THERE A LIFESAVER IN YOUR FAMILY?

The RNLI has partnered with Ancestry, making thousands of the charity’s records available to the public. To discover whether someone in your family is part of RNLI history, visit bit.ly/AncestryYR .

It’s free – simply sign up and search.

Family

TIES

‘They watch the shore. We watch their skin.’

RNLI partner Map My Mole is looking out for our lifeguards – and you

Since 2001, RNLI lifeguards have been keeping thousands of beachgoers safe every summer through their proactive safety advice and vigilance. But do you know who looks out for them?

As a charity, the RNLI relies on the kindness of people like you and our partners to provide the protective kit that keeps lifeguards safe in the sun, on the beach and in the water, so thank you.

And now, thanks to Map My Mole joining the RNLI family, that protection is going one step further by raising awareness of skin health among our lifeguards and the importance of spotting changes early.

In 2025, lifeguard teams at every lifeguard unit across England, Scotland and Wales* were given a free Map My Mole kit. The kit includes a special lens for mobile phone cameras that allows our lifeguards to photograph any moles of concern. They upload their photos to an app and receive a review by an expert dermatologist within 24 hours – all completely free.

Over the next 2 years, Map My Mole will not only supply our lifeguard teams with these free kits, but our face-to-face fundraising teams too, who also spend long hours in the sun, giving beach safety advice and inspiring new supporters.

What’s more, Map My Mole is donating £10 from every kit purchased to the RNLI to help save lives at sea while raising awareness of sun safety.

It’s gratifying to see our lifeguards and face-to-face fundraisers using the Map My Mole kits. It’s a positive innovation and gives them peace of mind. The feedback has been terrific

ROB STUTELEY, LEAD SUPERVISOR, KINGSBRIDGE RNLI LIFEGUARDS

Map Your Mole

Get £30 off a skin check kit worth £95* with code RNLIFF. Download the Map My Mole app or visit bit.ly/MapMyMoleYR .

*Please

Ordinary Seaman Robert Walter Fox C/JX 154883–RN served 16 years in the Royal Navy 1937–53

Robert Walter Fox was just 18 when he was rescued by Margate lifeboat crew off the shores of Dunkirk

‘I grew up listening to my father’s fascinating Second World War stories. One day, I asked him how I would remember them once he’d gone. So he wrote a book. One of the chapters was about the Dunkirk evacuations in 1940. He was part of the shore party that was tasked there to help troops onto the ships under the command of Captain William Tennant. This is my father’s account.’ Robert Fox Junior

26 May 1940

I had a sense of foreboding as a huge, dense pall of black smoke filled the sky above the burning oil refinery. The streets were pretty much empty, barring a few French army personnel and police officers. As we marched through

the town, a formation of high-level bombers started bombing. We took cover until the attack was over. When we reformed, the true meaning of ‘total war’ dawned on me when I saw the blazing buildings and devastation. It was indeed a baptism of fire for me at 18 years of age.

My group was sent to a section of BrayDunes, 3 or so miles along the beach toward La Panne. Although the sand dunes provided good cover for us, we still dug slit trenches for extra protection, and we found time for a small meal of bully beef and hardtack biscuits.

At dawn the next day, soldiers started arriving at the beach and then ships and boats of all shapes and sizes. Things got more

chaotic over the succeeding days. Our section commandeered a whaler boat and dragged it to a safe area up the beach to use when we were ordered to evacuate.

31 May 1940

We had been without sleep and very little food for 6 days when the rearguard soldiers started arriving on the beach. Our section, now reduced to 12 men, was told it was every man for himself and to evacuate by any means possible. So we dragged the whaler down to the sea and started rowing.

After a few miles, the boat started floundering and taking on water. It was then that the good old Margate lifeboat rescued us. I am informed it was the Lord Southborough and E Parker was the coxswain. They gave us all a tot of rum and returned us to Margate, where we were taken to the amusement arcade appropriately called ‘Dreamland’ because after a cup of tea and some sandwiches, I found a quiet corner and slept for the best part of 12 hours.

On reflection, I had a feeling of pride when we learned that around 340,000 men had been evacuated from Dunkirk; anger when the hospital ship was bombed; callousness that comes with exhaustion when handling bodies up the beach; utter waste when destroying equipment and trucks; relief when I learned my brother Reg had been evacuated from Calais; and sadness when I heard my long-time best friend Jack Marsh had been killed on the approaches to Dunkirk. It was a very testing 6 days.

Read and share incredible

GO

What’s involved?

• Walk, run, hop or roll a mile a day in May.

• Do it anywhere, anytime, at your own pace.

• Raise lifesaving funds for the RNLI.

The money you raise from your Mayday Mile will help prepare RNLI volunteers for their busiest season, so that they’re ready to bring more people home safe this summer.