20th Christmas on call for volunteer Liz at Staithes and Runswick RNLI station
Liz Wilson, who is celebrating her 20th year as Staithes and Runswick RNLI lifeboat crew, is just one of the many volunteers who will be on call throughout the Christmas period this year.
Christmas is a time for family and friends, but RNLI volunteer crews are always ready to leave their celebrations and answer the call for help.
Elizabeth (Liz) Wilson, from Staithes and Runswick RNLI, is one such volunteer.
With both her father Willie and uncle James Wright on the crew and her mother Lucy part of the Ladies Guild the RNLI was always a part of Liz’s early life.
Liz’s link to lifeboats also extends to her name.
In 1970 as The Royal Thames, a 37ft Oakley class lifeboat, arrived for Runswick Bay, one crew member, Willie Wright, received a message via radio from the Coastguard.
His wife, Lucy had given birth to his daughter.
Willie wanted a link to that boat, The Royal Thames, naming his daughter Elizabeth after the Queen, associating the ‘Royal’ element of the name of the lifeboat he had just brought to Runswick.
Liz joined the lifeboat crew in late 2004, attending the regular training sessions.
Her first shout came shortly after, when the pagers went off at 12.30pm on December 27, 2004, with Liz acting as shore crew.
The very next day, Liz was at the station again as shore crew on a follow-up call out.
Liz’s first launch as crew on the lifeboat was on May 2 2005, following her training both at Poole and on station.
This was to reports of canoeists in difficulty near Port Mulgrave, they were located and no assistance was required.
Liz's most memorable experience was the service to the yacht Phalarope, an initial crew went to extract the casualties from the vessel in September 2016.
The steel hulled yacht was aground at Skinningrove.
Ropes and kedge anchors were put on the vessel in order for to prevent it running further aground.
Liz and another crew member waited aboard the casualty vessel until the flood tide for the yacht to refloat, which happened as the Staithes and Runswick RNLI lifeboat B-788 Pride of Leicester stoodby in darkness of midnight.
Because of a rock creating a fulcrum point, the yacht rose unevenly on the tide, slamming back down onto the shore in the swell.
Those on the lifeboat commentedon how extreme the shock was to the boat.
Luckily the vessel refloated, with Whitby lifeboat picking up the tow once Staithes lifeboat had extracted the vessel from the rocks.
Both Liz and her husband Chris are RNLI volunteers, and Liz recalls the all-too-familiar moment when the pager sounds, often leading to a frantic race for the door.
"It’s like we’re both in some kind of mad dash to be the first one out,” she laughed.
"Chris, as the Launch Vehicle Driver, and I both end up tripping over each other, trying to get out the door as quickly as possible.”
While there’s no time for laughter in an emergency, Liz’s description highlights the urgency of the moment.
It’s a routine they’ve grown accustomed to, but every time the pager sounds, this urgency is real.
Even during this comical scramble, both Liz and Chris are focused on the task at hand, ready to leap into action as soon as they can – it will be no different this Christmas, with both pausing the presents and turkey if the call comes to save lives at sea.
Liz added: "There’s nothing quite like being able to bring someone safely back to their family – especially at Christmas time.
"Even during the holiday season, people can still get into trouble on the water, and we’re always ready to leave our own celebrations to help.
“However, as volunteer lifeboat crew members, we depend on the generous donations from the public to fund the training, and equipment we need to rescue others and ensure we can return safely to our own families.”
Visit RNLI.org/WinterAppeal to make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal, and enable the charity to continue its lifesaving work.