Restored lifeboat model returned to Whitby RNLI Lifeboat Museum after 75 years
The model was kindly donated by the granddaughter of Whitby's former honorary secretary.
John Foster was a well-respected Lifeboat Honorary Secretary at Whitby, serving from 1904 to1948. He was presented with the Mary Ann Hepworth model on his retirement in 1948. The model passed through his family via his son to Mr Foster’s granddaughter Ruth Ruddick. Ruth remembers as a child playing with the model which has a ‘wind up’ engine. Sadly, through the years the model had deteriorated with age.
Museum curator Neil Williamson said: 'Mrs Ruddick contacted the Museum in June 2023 and asked if the Museum would like the model as a donation which was gratefully accepted, the provenance of the model made this an important donation to the RNLI Museum and the feeling was that it was really good to see the model return to Whitby.
Pete Thomson (retired Coxswain) was very keen to see the model restored to its former glory and has painstaking restored the model, making new items for the model that had been lost over the years; he even renovated the ‘wind up’ motor.'
The model returned to the Museum on Friday 24 November and was put in pride of place in the central display case.
For more information contact Lifeboat Press Officer Ceri Oakes on 07813359428 or at [email protected]
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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.
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