Today the RNLI’s ‘Connecting our Communities’ relay style event came to Aldeburgh.
Volunteers from the crew, shop and fundraising guild gathered to watch the signing of the scroll, bearing the RNLI pledge. It was signed by Yvette, representing our shop volunteers and guild, and James, representing our operational crew.
Chris, who is travelling over the course of seven months with the five-metre-long scroll, will pass through 240 RNLI locations around the UK and Ireland before finishing the journey in October at Douglas on the Isle of Man, which was home to the RNLI’s founder, Sir William Hillary. By this time, the scroll will carry around 700 signatures.
The scroll has been made bespoke by RNLI craftspeople using materials of significance to the charity. The wooden handle has been made by a carpenter from the RNLI’s All-Weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole (where the charity builds and maintains its all-weather lifeboats), using wood from an old flagpole from Ramsey lifeboat station on the Isle of Man. Apprentices from the RNLI’s Inshore Lifeboat Centre on the Isle of Wight have made the protective fibreglass casing and set the scroll spindles and accessories into the case.
Freddie Cooper has had many notable launches including the following:
A Bronze Medal was awarded to Coxswain/Mechanic Ian Firman following three people being rescued from the yacht Red House Lugger which was in difficulties 30 miles east of Aldeburgh in rough seas, an estimated 20 foot swell and storm force winds on 29 August 1996.
A Bronze Medal Second Service Clasp was awarded to Coxswain/Mechanic Ian Firman for the rescue of the crew of four from the yacht Rosebank in appalling weather conditions on 28 May 2000.
On the night of 17 April 2004, Coxswain Lee Firman and crewman David Cook saved two crew and the yacht SVEA. The service was carried out in very poor weather conditions and it took several attempts to get a crewman aboard and establish a tow. A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution, Admiral Sir Jock Slater, was awarded to Lee and David for their actions. Freddie Cooper was put on service on 19 December 1993.
Freddie Cooper who the lifeboat is named after, used to holiday in Aldeburgh and funded the lifeboat with a gift in his Will. He was a former director and secretary of the East Midland Allied Press and a managing director of Northamptonshire Newspaper Ltd. The donor's name plaque can be found in the boathouse.
Freddie Cooper can launch in under 10 minutes, from the first pager bleeping to the crew arriving at the station, finding out the rescue details, getting survival kit on and launching the boat.
The current lifeboat station was built in 1993 after a legacy from Mrs Eugenie Boucher, replacing the older building. It was named Penza, after a town in South East Russia near where she lived until the 1920s. The donor's name plaque can be found downstairs in the corridor.
Aldeburgh lifeboat station has been operating since 1824 and has been part of the RNLI since 1852.
📷 RNLI/Luke Elmer-Sampson 📷 RNLI/Jo Litt.
Being presented with the highest commendation by the Sheriff of Suffolk.
RNLI/Luke Elmer-Sampson
The mammoth challenge has been created and led by London couple Belinda and James Richardson who have been committed RNLI supporters for the last 20 years.
They will drive anti-clockwise around the whole of England (including the Isles of Man, Isles of Scilly, Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands: Alderney, Guernsey and Jersey) visiting all 116 lifeboat stations within 23 days.
They have raised £70,000 for the RNLI so far, and are hoping to raise enough for a new D-class lifeboat. The D-class and Porsche 911 have a lot in common - they both came off the production lines in the same year; are roughly the same size, have engines in the back and are water cooled.
For more information visit rnli-911challenge.co.uk
Thank you so much for your support Millie!
A grand event brought to you by the Aldeburgh RNLI Guild
Photo - Aldeburgh’s all weather lifeboat Freddie Cooper next to the relief boat this morning.
Freddie Cooper is having some maintenance work carried out and a relief Mersey is now on stationSarah Smith, from Equans, did a walk back in June raising money for Aldeburgh lifeboat station.
They raised an amazing £717! Thank you to everyone involved with raising this fantastic amount.At Aldeburgh Yacht Club
Music by Harbour Lights £15 p.p. Raising funds for Aldeburgh RNLIAs part of our investigations into future options for the station, we are carrying out ground works to understand the opportunities and limitations of the area surrounding the station.
If and when we are in a position where we have a proposal for any changes we might want to make, we will be undertaking a public consultation to seek feedback.A huge thank you to The Aldeburgh Triathlon team who generously donated £1000 to Aldeburgh RNLI.
A huge well done to Imogen and Rupert who have raised a fantastic £257 for the RNLI.
This was due to their holiday fundraising activities selling decorated stones. Many thanks from all at Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station.Aldeburgh lifeboat station is having an Open Day on Saturday 27th August from 10am to 4pm and a fundraising street/beach fair from 10am to 1 pm.
We will be having guided tours of our lifeboats and vehicles by the lifeboat crew and team. Meet and chat with the crew and Stormy Stan, visit the crew kit room. Aldeburgh Coastguard team will also be joining us. There will be face painting, colouring pads for sea safety, book stall, refreshments and much more. All welcome. Please come and visit and support the RNLI.Local business man and his swimming team raise money for RNLI Aldeburgh lifeboat station. Rob Mabey, a retired local business man and his swimming ‘team’, raised an amazing £1120 for RNLI Aldeburgh lifeboat station. They did this by swimming in the North Sea every day during December.
They are a group of around 20 friends who regularly meet to swim together on the Suffolk coast at Thorpeness. Last year during lockdown they swam through the winter in pairs and then as a group. They managed 120 consecutive days and swam in the river when the sea was too fierce. The coldest day being 0.5 degrees centigrade in the river, with a wind chill of -10 degrees centigrade. Rob said “This December we swam every day to raise funds for our beloved local lifeboat at Aldeburgh. We have a close relationship with the crew (not having required their assistance fortunately) and would like to give them all the support we can.” The cold water swimming team presented their cheque to Steve Saint, Coxswain of Aldeburgh lifeboat station on New Year’s day, who said “A huge thank you to everyone involved and the support that you have given to our lifeboat station.”Folk and Fish & Chip Supper at Aldeburgh Yacht Club from 7pm. Tickets £15 per person including a fish and chip supper. Tickets from ali.lumpkin@btinternet.com
Bridge afternoon at Aldeburgh Golf Club, tickets £15 per team, teams of 4, entry form from Anne Newman.
Aldeburgh Lifeboats present
A FISH & CHIP
SUPPER
(supplied by Aldeburgh Fish & Chip Shop)
& MUSIC by
HARBOUR LIGHTS
At
Aldeburgh Yacht Club
Friday 9th November 2018
at 7pm
Tickets £15 per person
For tickets call:
07850 791539 or 01728 453984
Raising funds for the RNLI the charity that
Monday 20th August - Aldeburgh Carnival ILB and ALB, at 10:45am (subject to operational duties)
Aldeburgh lifeboat station is having a Street Fair and Open Day on Saturday 25th August from 10am until 3 pm, raising essential funds for the life saving charity.
Mike John, 653 Squadron Fund raising for the RNLI by cycling from Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station to Tenby Lifeboat Station. He’s arriving at about 2pm on Sunday 19th and be leaving for Tenby at 8am on the Monday morning
Here is a little more information and links to Mike (along with his two brothers) fundraising efforts - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michael-john3
http://www.tenby-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=118056&headline=Cycling+challenge+to+raise+RNLI%3Ffunds§ionIs=news&searchyear=2018
Mike John, 653 Squadron Fund raising for the RNLI by cycling from Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station to Tenby Lifeboat Station. He’s arriving at about 2pm on Sunday 19th and be leaving for Tenby at 8am on the Monday morning
Here is a little more information and links to Mike (along with his two brothers) fundraising efforts - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michael-john3
http://www.tenby-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=118056&headline=Cycling+challenge+to+raise+RNLI%3Ffunds§ionIs=news&searchyear=2018
Monday 25th June 2018
Entry: £50 /person, £200 / team of four
Includes Coffee/Bacon Roll, 18 holes of golf and two course supper
Format: four ball Stableford
Entry forms here / or sponsorship information contact:
Alistair Lumpkin on 07850 791539 or email to ali.lumpkin@btinternet.com
People are invited to Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station on 8th April at 10:30am to watch the Freddie Cooper Lifeboat go out on an exercise. After the exercise everyone is invited into the Boathouse for an Art Auction kindly supported by The George Farnham Gallery, Saxmundham, where donated pieces will be auctioned off to raise money for Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station.
Organised with support from The George Farnham Gallery, the event will see artwork that has been donated from Leigh Hammett, Simon Turner, James Oses, The George Farnham Gallery (work by Polly Williams), Suzanne Campbell and 100% of the money raised will go to Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station.
Charles Walker, Lifeboat Operations Manager said: ‘RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews around the UK and Ireland are willing to drop everything to go and save lives at sea when their pagers beep. We rely on the generosity of the public to help us continue our lifesaving service, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.’
Ben Long, Fundraising Manager said: ‘I would like to thank The George Farnham Gallery for supporting this event through donating artwork from incredibly talented artists! All the money raised from the event will go directly to Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station, without the support from people like Gary, Michael and George the dog (after whom the gallery is named) from the Gallery we wouldn’t be able to continue educating people about the dangers of water and saving lives at sea.
Michael Light, (co-owner of) The George Farnham Gallery said: ‘After hearing the terrible news about the break in at Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station we wanted to help to raise funds towards the work of the RNLI at Aldeburgh – and we would like to thank the artists who have donated their work and hope that many of you will come and support this event and help it to raise as much money as possible on the day’
COULD YOU VOLUNTEER FOR THE RNLI AND HELP SAVE LIVES AT SEA?
We are looking for new volunteers to join our team here in Aldeburgh. Come and meet us on Saturday 24th March (10am-3pm) RNLI Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station, Crag Path, Aldeburgh IP15 5BP
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea
Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station Chairman of the Guild, Richard Gardner, died recently. He had been the Guild’s Chairman for 2017, but had to step down due to ill health.
His funeral will take place on Monday 22nd January at 2pm
Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station Guild Chair, received a very generous cheque, of £2000, from Neil, the landlord of a local pub, the Sibton White Horse.
The money was raised through their Monday night quizzes and the photos show the cheque being handed over and Neil receiving a letter of thanks from the RNLI. As the RNLI is a charity, it relies on the generosity of the public, such as those at the Sibton White Horse, to continue to save lives at sea.
Aldeburgh RNLI thanks community after ‘overwhelming’ response to break-in
Take a read of our response after an 'overwhelming' level of support from the community in this weeks edition of East Anglian Daily Times Read Here
Aldeburgh RNLI’s festive spirit put to the test following lifeboat station break-in
Volunteers at Aldeburgh RNLI have had their festive spirits put to the test after thieves broke into the charity’s lifeboat station.
The incident occurred in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday 20 December) when intruders broke through a window and gained entry to the station.
Once inside, they smashed up furniture and stole various funds, including the volunteer crew members’ tea and coffee kitty. They also ransacked the building leaving the station with a considerable clean-up operation and repair bill.
RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager, Charlie Walker said: ‘It was heart-breaking to discover that our lifeboat station had been broken into and I can’t possibly comprehend why anyone would want to target our lifesaving service.
‘The thieves have committed a mindless act of vandalism by breaking our office furniture and they’ve caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to the building too.
‘The break-in has been a real kick in the teeth to our volunteer crew but they won’t let it dampen their festive spirits. They’ll be on-call throughout Christmas, ready to drop everything and save lives at sea.’
Aldeburgh RNLI was also targeted by vandals earlier in the year when the lifeboat station window was smashed resulting in a substantial repair bill.
Charlie added: ‘The RNLI is a charity and all our equipment is paid for through public donations. It is exasperating that we will now have to rely on the generosity of our supporters to fix the damage to the site and to increase the security measures we already have in place.’
Anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity or has knowledge of the incident should contact Suffolk police on 101, quoting crime reference 37/80533/17 or CAD reference 72 of 20 December 2017.