Bridlington RNLI lifeboat station set to welcome RNLI200 anniversary scroll relay

The event sees a scroll, bearing the RNLI pledge, being passed through RNLI communities – lifeboat stations, lifeguard units and fundraising branches – around the UK and Ireland and being signed by representatives at each location on its route. It will be at Bridlington RNLI on 1 June at 12 noon.

The pledge reads: ‘Whoever we are, wherever we are from, we are one crew, ready to save lives.

‘We’re powered by passion, talent and kindness, like generations of selfless lifesavers before us.

‘This is our watch, we lead the way, valuing each other, trusting each other, depending on one another, volunteering to face the storm together.

‘Knowing that, with courage, nothing is impossible.

‘That is what has always driven us to save every one we can.

‘It's what makes every one of us a lifesaver.’

Beneath the pledge, printed in seven languages (English, Irish Gaelic, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Manx, and Cornish), it says: ‘Signed in 2024 by representatives of the RNLI’s lifesaving communities, on behalf of all who strive to save every one.’

At Bridlington the scroll will be signed by Steve Emmerson (Operations), Ash Traves (Water Safety), Richard Dunk (Management), Jo Cook (Retail) and Joy Marrison (Fundraising).

Lynn Shaw, volunteer Chair at Bridlington RNLI said: “At Bridlington Lifeboat Station we feel honoured to receive the scroll.”

By signing the scroll and making their pledge, the Bridlington signatories will honour the values described in the pledge and make their commitment to being lifesavers for all the time that they volunteer for the RNLI.

They will also represent all of the “One Crew” at Bridlington who are dedicated to Saving Lives at Sea’.

Over the course of seven months, the five-metre-long scroll will pass through 240 RNLI locations around the UK and Ireland before finishing its journey in October at Douglas on the Isle of Man, which was home to the RNLI’s founder, Sir William Hillary.

The scroll has been made bespoke, involving RNLI craftspeople and 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.

The scroll began its journey on Monday 4 March 2024, at a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey to mark the charity’s official 200th anniversary, where it was signed by RNLI President, HRH The Duke of Kent, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Dean of Westminster, the RNLI’s Chair and the RNLI’s Chief Executive.

Since the charity was founded, the charity’s lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

For further information about the RNLI’s 200th anniversary, visit RNLI.org/200.