IT WAS A red letter day when the Solihull branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute held its annual general meeting.
For on hand was RNLI community manager Emma MacDonald for the West Midlands who was there to present two long service certificates to key members of the branch, David Herriott and Andrew Towers.
David, the current branch press and publicity officer, has now completed 50 years of voluntary service with the RNLI, having originally joined the committee of the old Birmingham branch back in 1972.
He transferred to the Solihull Branch on its formation in 1989.
A 50 years bar to his long service medal will be issued soon.
Andrew, who ‘wears several hats’ within the branch, has now completed 20 years voluntary service and will receive a 20 years long service badge.
Solihull may be miles from the sea but its active RNLI branch has played a key role in helping to fund the voluntary service.
The RNLI’s lifeboat crews provide a 24-hour rescue service in the UK and Ireland, and its seasonal lifeguards look after people on busy beaches while the flood rescue team helps those affected by flooding.
RNLI crews and lifeguards have saved more than 142,700 lives since 1824 and is entirely funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public and the hard work of branches like the one in Solihull.
On average the crews deal with 24 launches a day while saway from the sea the RNLI’s community safety teams aim to explain the risks and share safety knowledge with anyone going out to sea or to the coast.
Meanwhile its international teams work with like-minded organisations to help tackle drowning in communities at risk all around the world.
To find out more about the work of the Solihull branch, visit RNLI Solihull Branch on Facebook.
