Poole RNLI volunteer recognised for thirty-years’ service
Poole RNLI volunteer recognised for thirty-years’ service
Lifeboats News Release
Poole RNLI volunteer, Paul Taylor, has been presented with his 30-year long service medal recognising his time and commitment spent saving lives at sea for the lifesaving charity.
RNLI/Dave Riley
Paul Taylor receiving his medal from Helen Gilcrist, Lifeboat Operations Manager
In August 1992, on his 17th birthday, Paul joined the crew of St Davids RNLI in Wales. During his time as a volunteer in Wales Paul served as crew on the all-weather Tyne class lifeboat and was also a helm on the D class inshore lifeboat.
During 2005, Paul took up the full-time role of Station Mechanic on the Tyne class at Poole and relocated to the south coast joining one in the charity’s busiest coastal lifeboat stations before taking up role of full-time crew on the Thames in 2016.
Paul recalls a memorable shout in St Davids and said: ‘We’d launched to a single handled yachtsman who had hit a submerged object with his 40ft yacht and it had started taking on water fast.
‘We arrived onscene and I was asked to swim across to the yacht as we couldn’t get close enough with the lifeboat. When I got onboard, he was clearly shaken and didn’t know what to do.
‘With waves coming over the boat and more water coming in, I made the quick decision to get a lifejacket on him. I inflated our lifejackets and all we could to was jump and swim for it.
‘The lifeboat soon picked us up and when I looked back the yacht had sunk.’
Today, Paul continues to share his wealth of experience and now works for the RNLI as a Divisional Assessor Trainer in the southeast and also volunteers at Poole Lifeboat Station as a Deputy Launch Authority.
Over the 30 years Paul has dedicated to the RNLI, he has launched on more than 510 shouts, rescued 652 people and saved 18 lives.
Paul said: ‘I feel immensely proud to reach this milestone. I have to pinch myself to believe it’s been 30 years, I can’t believe it was 10 years ago when I received my 20-year badge. It’s always been one team effort, and I couldn’t have achieved what I’ve done without the support of my family. Hopefully I can continue to share my knowledge and help save lives at sea for many more years to come.'
Poole Lifeboat Operations Manager Matt Thomas said: ‘Paul’s dedication to the RNLI is evident when you look at the number of people he has helped rescue, combine this with the other roles he’s held such as a Divisional Assessor Trainer, Lifeboat Fundraising Chair, and now a valued part of our team at Poole, he’s a credit to the RNLI.’
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
