Recognition for Dunbar RNLI ‘One Crew’ volunteers at royal garden party
Three long serving volunteers from Dunbar RNLI have been invited to a special garden party at Buckingham Palace this week to mark the charity’s 200th anniversary.
Maureen Watt, a shop volunteer for 20 years, will join crew members Alistair Punton, who has 30 years’ service, and Gordon Kirkham, who is approaching 20 years on the lifeboats, at the event on Thursday 23 May, hosted by the Princess Royal and Duke of Kent, who has been president of the RNLI for 55 years.
For Maureen, 75, it is a remarkable recognition for someone whose health issues limited her volunteering options 20 years ago – and who says the lifeboats saved her after the tragic death of her beloved husband Robert. Originally from Glasgow, Maureen worked as a nurse and latterly ran a care home in Galashiels before her family moved to Dunbar. She says: ‘My husband came from Tranent and wanted to be near his family and my daughter and son in law were moving here for work. I had suffered several strokes by that time and couldn’t volunteer anywhere that required me to stand. Back then there was only the harbour shop and I saw you could sit down in there so I asked if they needed any help. Robert died in 2007 and the lifeboats were my saving grace because having to get up and go to work in the shop gave me a purpose.
‘When I started in the harbour there was no cash register. You simply wrote down what you sold, added up the money and left it in a drawer. It’s changed days now, thanks to the hard work managers Ken and Marie Headley have put in. They’ve transformed the two shops.’
Maureen will be joined at the garden party by daughter Pauline, who also helps out at the shop and her granddaughter Isla, who despite being 15 has already been volunteering at the shop for ten years! Maureen says: ‘Isla is coming with us to make sure we get on the right underground train so we don’t get lost!’
Also joining Maureen in London will be Torness Power Station technical trainer Gordon Kirkham, who first joined the RNLI through the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. He has performed a number of roles since then and is currently a helm on the inshore lifeboat and mechanic on the all-weather lifeboat (ALB). Alistair Punton also serves as an mechanic. Recently retired as an electrician at the Tarmac cement plant, Alistair recently received his medal for 30 years’ service.
The RNLI 200th Volunteer Recognition Garden Party will recognise the amazing contribution of ‘One Crew’ volunteers across the charity that saves lives at sea from all over the UK and Ireland.
Notes to editors
Photos available
Established in 1808, 16 years before the formation of the RNLI, Dunbar Lifeboat Station is one of the oldest in Scotland and is located on the south side of the mouth of the Firth of Forth. Since its formation, its volunteer crews have been honoured with 12 awards for gallantry.
It operates two lifeboats – the Trent class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) John Neville Taylor, moored at Torness Power Station, and the D-class inshore lifeboat (ILB) David Lauder, which launches from Dunbar Harbour.
RNLI media contacts
Douglas Wight, Dunbar RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer [email protected]
Natasha Bennett, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland, 07826 900639, [email protected]
Tom McGuire, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland and Ireland, 00353 87 476 4436, [email protected]
Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Scotland, 07920 365929, [email protected]
RNLI Press Office (available 24 hours
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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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.