Saving lives at sea: BBC 1

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Athlon

Original Poster:

4,999 posts

205 months

Tuesday 12th July 2016
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New series about the many faces of the RNLI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrEybpv0ytY&fe...

Looking forward to this!


FiF

43,964 posts

250 months

Tuesday 12th July 2016
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Thanks for the heads up on this.


Sky+ on mobile, so useful for remote handling of the box on occasions like this.

nicanary

9,751 posts

145 months

Tuesday 12th July 2016
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This could be good viewing. I'm always interested in learning about real heroes, as opposed to self-promoting z-list "slebs".

Apropos nothing really, but the other day I was checking up on the legendary Henry Blogg, and I noticed the list of crew names on his Wikipedia page. It makes Saving Private Ryan and The Fighting Sullivan Brothers look a bit weak - of the crew of 12, and allowing for the fact that he was brought up by the Davies family, 10 of them from the same family. That's commitment.

Otispunkmeyer

12,557 posts

154 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
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very good

done my few bits helping friends in the RNLI do their stuff and do fund raising. Great organisation (though I am not so sure about them making their own lifeboats! They've been designing them for a while, but actually producing them in house is another matter!).

Was down Harlyn on sunday and the surf was pretty decent! The beach guards were out on the rescue boards a few times to pluck people from the water and they had the little RIB out doing the rounds to make sure everyone was ok. You really do feel safe in the water with those guys there.



Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Wednesday 13th July 11:41

Athlon

Original Poster:

4,999 posts

205 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
quotequote all
Otispunkmeyer said:
very good

done my few bits helping friends in the RNLI do their stuff and do fund raising. Great organisation (though I am not so sure about them making their own lifeboats! They've been designing them for a while, but actually producing them in house is another matter!).

Was down Harlyn on sunday and the surf was pretty decent! The beach guards were out on the rescue boards a few times to pluck people from the water and they had the little RIB out doing the rounds to make sure everyone was ok. You really do feel safe in the water with those guys there.



Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Wednesday 13th July 11:41
Have you seen the ALB centre at Poole? Trust me, production will be first rate, the guys at SAR composites that used to lay down the hulls have re-located to Poole along with many of the guys that used to fit them out, bringing the build in house saves 3.5 million a year and ensures quality control is the very best it has ever been. Two boats built in house are already in service and working well.

Hopefully when folk watch this show they will realise there is far more than the big boats to the RNLI, the inshore boats, lifeguards with the rescue craft, Arancia inflatables and body boards as well as the flood rescue teams.

It is a great charity and one I am very proud to be a volunteer fundraiser for them, the crews and stations treat us equally and as much as we respect them for doing what they do, they respect the fact we stand around in the rain collecting!!

Bacardi

2,235 posts

275 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
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nicanary said:
Apropos nothing really, but the other day I was checking up on the legendary Henry Blogg, and I noticed the list of crew names on his Wikipedia page. It makes Saving Private Ryan and The Fighting Sullivan Brothers look a bit weak - of the crew of 12, and allowing for the fact that he was brought up by the Davies family, 10 of them from the same family. That's commitment.
My great grandmother was a Davies and a cousin of Henry Blogg, IIRC his father was a Davies but was born out of wedlock. My grandfather was the last member of his crew to die and we scattered his ashes from the lifeboat in 2007. John Davies, the current coxswain, at the suggestion of his father Richard, the previous coxswain, stopped the lifeboat over the spot were the SS Georgia wreck lay to scatter his ashes. My grandfather received a RNLI bronze medal for that rescue and I believe all the crew received a silver watch from the Queen of the Netherlands, I still have both and the certificate hangs on my office wall which sates the crew spent 28 hours trying to rescue and that was on the 22nd of November 1927. None of the lifeboatmen could swim. My great grandfather was also a member of the Cromer lifeboat and both are listed in this now out of print book:



A couple of anecdotes I can remember being told, the first from my grandfather who told me about a time when he first joined the lifeboat, and was in a rowing lifeboat, I believe the Louisa Heartwell. Anyway, they were trying to row out and my grandfather who was a young man at the time heard one of the older crew (I'm talking hard as nails old school), tell him "PULL boy PULL!" to which my grandfather said "I am a pulling!" To which the old guy replied " Well PULL BLOODY HARDER!!!"

The other is when Henry Blogg was rescuing some Germans during the war, not sure if they were sailors or airmen, but apparently Henry Blogg said "pull them aboard... but not too gently..."

This might also be of interest for one of Blogg's most famous rescues.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THmuvwutv7A


Edited by Bacardi on Wednesday 13th July 21:16

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
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That was amazing!

Athlon

Original Poster:

4,999 posts

205 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
quotequote all
So often docu dramas are a bit hit and miss, this tonight was epic. I am so proud to be a tiny part of the RNLI and massively proud of the friends I have in the service and all those I am yet to meet #proudOfOurCrowd

nicanary

9,751 posts

145 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
quotequote all
Thank you for that - I feel that PH is almost honoured to have you as one of us. I have a book with a sequence of photos of the rescue of the crew of the Sepoy. The stories of the Cromer lifeboat are legendary. They once lost 2 boats attempting an almost impossible rescue, and still launched a 3rd boat, some ancient old clinker-built tub, crewed by whoever they could muster, teenagers and old fishermen. You would think Hollywood would have caught on by now and seen what good material is to be found.

On tonight's programme one RNLI man said he'd been asked how much he earned. Most of them are volunteers but some stations need full-time members. A long time ago (maybe 20 years or more) there was a series of documentaries about the Mousehole station - the journalist covering the filming first asked the coxswain if he felt he was a hero, and got a mumbled reply, and then astonishingly had the crassness to say "will you tell me how much you earn?". I sat watchiung completely gobsmacked that anybody would ask such a question. To his credit, the guy paused for a while, and then said "no" in a firm manner as if to say "no more dumb questions".

BTW my family hail from North Norfolk, Bacton and N. Walsham and that area. Hence my interest in Cromer.

skeggysteve

5,724 posts

216 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
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The only charity I support.

Edited by skeggysteve on Thursday 14th July 18:26

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
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The Red Flare incident was edge of the seat viewing.
Amazing TV.
The calmness with which these crews face the dangers they do is bewildering.

Athlon

Original Poster:

4,999 posts

205 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
quotequote all
I am so proud to be a tiny part of this, if you have questions I will do my best to answer, if you want to be part of it or donate, just ask, we don't always get it right, you saw that tonight, but we always go...

FiF

43,964 posts

250 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
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As someone said above, the only charity I support and volunteer for fundraising activities.

Also one thing that really grinds my gears is when the AA advertise themselves as the 4th emergency service.

ewolg

1,678 posts

278 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
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Recorded it so will watch tomorrow. Long time supporter and donator to the RNLI.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 13th July 2016
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FiF said:
Also one thing that really grinds my gears is when the AA advertise themselves as the 4th emergency service.
Agreed. The strap line was withdrawn several years ago due to the contentiousness of the claim and is now simply a legacy issue on older vehicle liveries.

coppice

8,563 posts

143 months

Thursday 14th July 2016
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One thing I learned recently is that some lifeboats are not RNLI at all but are other private charities, who often struggle to get funds and also sometimes don't get the best of deals from the RNLI itself when it comes to buying used kit . It's worth bearing this in mind if you are minded to donate to lifeboats generally . Obviously all rescue personnel deserve huge respect but don't assume the boat that rescues you is always RNLI .

megaphone

10,694 posts

250 months

Thursday 14th July 2016
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Agree, our local lifeboat is run by an independent charity and local volunteers.

Great viewing last night, really brought home want these guys do for us.

nicanary

9,751 posts

145 months

Thursday 14th July 2016
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FiF said:
As someone said above, the only charity I support and volunteer for fundraising activities.

Also one thing that really grinds my gears is when the AA advertise themselves as the 4th emergency service.
RNLI and 4 X 4 Response.

Compare and contrast.........

FiF

43,964 posts

250 months

Thursday 14th July 2016
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nicanary said:
FiF said:
As someone said above, the only charity I support and volunteer for fundraising activities.

Also one thing that really grinds my gears is when the AA advertise themselves as the 4th emergency service.
RNLI and 4 X 4 Response.

Compare and contrast.........
Whilst Coppice makes a fair point above about non RNLI SaR operations, have personally had the misfortune to see one such outfit that when confronted with a life threatening situation would have easily qualified for both the Walts and 4x4 response threads.

This isn't intended to decry all such outfits, as many do excellent work, but it does raise the question over the need for standards. Problem is if requirements become statutory that goes completely against the philosophy of the RNLI who clearly, and correctly imo, wish to be independent of government, ie not have statutory status.

Eric Mc

121,782 posts

264 months

Thursday 14th July 2016
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I have a family link to the RNLI due to the fact that my uncle Peter was the Coxswain of the Howth lifeboat in the 1970s.