Royal visit for Penlee Lifeboat Station ahead of Easter
The Duke of Kent meet RNLI volunteers during a private tour in Newlyn
A Cornish lifeboat station has had a royal visit ahead of the Easter weekend.
His Royal Highness (HRH) The Duke of Kent met volunteers at Penlee RNLI during a private tour of the station in Newlyn on Monday (11th April).
As part of his visit, he spent some time in the newly refurbished visitor centre which is now open to the public.
The Duke of Kent, who is the President of the RNLI, was accompanied by the Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall Edward Bolitho. Both were welcomed by the Penlee Lifeboat Operations Manager David Pascoe and Coxswain Patch Harvey, alongside Dickon Berriman, Area Lifesaving Manager in the South West and Mark Dowie, RNLI Chief Executive.
They were given a tour of the lifeboat station which was officially opened in 2019 and introduced to a congregation of station volunteers including lifeboat crew, fundraisers, RNLI shop and water safety volunteers, and the Lifeboat Press Officer to hear more about their volunteer roles and the commitment they give to the charity that saves lives at sea.
RNLI lifeguards who provide safety patrols on nearby beaches were also there to meet The Duke and talk more about their roles out on Cornwall’s beaches.
The Duke spent some time in the station visitor centre which features a carefully curated selection of Penlee’s history, including the tragic events of the 1981 disaster and replicas of medals the eight crew were posthumously awarded.
Before departing, HRH presented Lifeboat Operations Manager David Pascoe with a Certificate of Service and a signed certificate to commemorate his visit during The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Year which David received on behalf of the station.
In return, the station presented The Duke with a signed book on the history of Penlee Lifeboat Station and Coxswain Patch Harvey presented him with a printed copy of the Penlee Book of Remembrance to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Penlee Disaster on 19 December 2021. A copy of the book will be available for visitors to view in the new visitor centre.
Before HRH The Duke of Kent was taken aboard the station’s all-weather lifeboat Ivan Ellen, a group picture was taken, encompassing all the volunteer roles that make up the running of a lifeboat station and keeping the charity afloat in the local community. On behalf of everyone at the station, Janet Madron, Chair of the Penlee Lifeboat Management Group, asked The Duke to pass on their best wishes to our Patron, Her Majesty the Queen in Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee Year.
During The Duke’s time afloat, RNLB Ivan Ellen passed the old boathouse at Mousehole where HRH privately paid tribute to the crew of RNLB Solomon Browne who tragically never returned to the station in December 1981.
David Pascoe, volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager said" "t was great to welcome the charity’s President, HRH The Duke of Kent to the station and introduce him to the wide and varied volunteers we have within Penlee RNLI and who all play their part in keeping the station, and charity afloat in the community. We are one big team, one crew and a visit like this brings everyone together."
HRH The Duke of Kent has been President of the RNLI since 1969 after succeeding both his parents as President of the charity.