Salcombe RNLI Crew celebrate the life of Iain Dundas

After a short illness, the RNLI family in Salcombe are saddened to share the news of the passing of 54-year-old RNLI volunteer Iain Dundas.

For 15 years Iain was a huge part of the RNLI team in Salcombe and is deeply missed by his beloved children, twin sons Nathan and Isaac and younger son Angus and the rest of his family in both England and Scotland.

Iain first joined the lifesaving charity on 25^th April 2003 and immersed himself into the charity and brought many valuable skills from his Army and Fishing days and willingly shared them with his volunteer colleagues.

Iain was awarded a rare RNLI Medal for Gallantry for his part in rescuing two people from a grounded yacht in a raging gale in December 2020.

The yacht was in danger of breaking up, stranded on a rocky outcrop in a tight gully. The Coastguard helicopter could not help – conditions were too wild. It was 4.30am, and Salcombe lifeboat could not get close enough to help either – the gully was too shallow, the rocks too jagged, the cliffs too close. But Iain and a fellow volunteer crew member refused to leave the terrified sailors to their fate. Salcombe lifeboat carries a small inflatable dinghy onboard, and there was a chance to reach them that way. In pitch black, big swells and driving rain, it was not an easy job. And if anything were to go wrong in that gully, the crews on the larger lifeboat and in the helicopter would not have been able to help. Still, two RNLI crew volunteered to take the risk, it not being in their nature to leave people alone at sea - Iain Dundas and his colleague.

Iain was always on hand to help support the new volunteers and pass on his knowledge, he was also keen to have a laugh and share some banter. He proudly carried the RNLI Standard each year at the town’s Remembrance Parade.

Nigel Blazeby, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said, 'I was tremendously sad to hear that Iain had died following his brave struggle against cancer. Iain was extremely proud of his Scottish roots, and it was perhaps fitting that he was on ‘Home Territory’ during his final days.

We have a large Iain shaped hole at RNLI Salcombe, he will be deeply missed by not only us but his beloved family and all who knew him. Farewell our friend, fair winds to the other side.

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.

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