Blackpool lifeboat station celebrates RNLI's 200th anniversary

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) will celebrate 200 years of saving lives at sea on Monday – thanks to volunteers, like those at Blackpool RNLI lifeboat station, giving their time to save others, all funded by voluntary public donations.

On the day the charity turns 200, the RNLI has revealed its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved an incredible 146,277 lives.

Blackpool RNLI lifeboat station was founded in 1864.

In that time its crews have launched the lifeboats 2,786 times and saved 479 lives.

In 2023, the volunteer crews responded to callout 148 times leading to 114 launches, saved 14 lives and assisted a further 42 people to safety.

A Service of Thanksgiving to mark 200 years of the RNLI will take place at Westminster Abbey in London on March 4.

It will be attended by representatives from RNLI lifesaving communities around the UK and Ireland, including Lifeboat Operations Manager David Warburton and Phil Denham, Launch Authority from Blackpool RNLI.

They have over 85 years of RNLI volunteer service as operational crew at Blackpool between them.

Phil Denham joined Blackpool RNLI in 1969 and is still volunteering today.

He was awarded the RNLI Bronze medal in January 1988 as a D-class helm rescuing sailors off Blackpool in storm force conditions.

David Warburton has just received his RNLI 30 year medal, having served as volunteer helm for both class lifeboats, before taking on his current Lifeboat Operations Manager role.

David Warburton said: "It is an honour for me to be asked to attend the service with such a dedicated Blackpool RNLI volunteer as Phil, to be able to recognise the incredible 200 years of lifesaving of the RNLI charity.

"We are the latest generation of 160 years of history at Blackpool RNLI, and already we have the next generations coming through.

"We are busier than ever as a RNLI station, but look forward to continuing to build through 2024 to save lives and keep Blackpool safe."

Founded in a London tavern on March 4, 1824 following an appeal from Sir William Hillary, who lived on the Isle of Man and witnessed many shipwrecks, the RNLI has continued saving lives at sea throughout the tests of its history, including tragic disasters, funding challenges and two World Wars.

Today, it operates 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, including four on the River Thames, and has seasonal lifeguards on over 240 lifeguarded beaches around the UK.

It designs and builds its own lifeboats and runs domestic and international water safety programmes.

While much has changed in 200 years, two things have remained the same – the charity’s dependence on volunteers, who give their time and commitment to save others, and the voluntary contributions from the public which have funded the service for the past two centuries.

RNLI Chief Executive, Mark Dowie, said: "It has been an honour and a privilege to be at the helm of the RNLI for the past five years, and to see the charity reach its bicentenary.

"For a charity to have survived 200 years based on the time and commitment of volunteers, and the sheer generosity of the public donating to fund it, is truly remarkable.

"It is through the courage and dedication of its incredible people that the RNLI has survived the tests of time, including tragic losses, funding challenges, two World Wars and, more recently, a global pandemic."

Throughout its bicentenary year, the charity is running events and activities to remember its important history and celebrate the modern lifesaving service it is today, while hoping to inspire generations of future lifesavers and supporters.