Peter Phillipson ESM, a regional director of the Marine Rescue Service New South Wales (NSW), will visit Ramsey RNLI lifeboat station on the morning of Friday 27th July.
The purpose of his visit is to present a Marine Rescue NSW long service medal to Mr Tony Walters of Ballaugh, a member and former chairman of Ramsey RNLI branch.
Mr Walters became involved with the Australian marine rescue service in 1998 when visiting a cousin of his late wife in St Helens on the North east coast of Tasmania. He was invited to become a member and representative of the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol (RVCP), the oldest volunteer marine rescue service in Australia. Mr Walters and his wife went on to represent the RVCP at many international lifeboat conferences including Poole, UK, Capetown, South Africa and Gothenburg, Sweden.
As with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution charity in Britain, all members of the RVCP are volunteers, with a large proportion of their time freely devoted to raising funds for the provision of a modern and first class marine lifesaving service. In 2009 the RVCP became part of the Marine Rescue Service NSW.
Mr Walters has been a lifeboat devotee and branch supporter of the RNLI charity for many years. It was at the age of fourteen he began, in his words “shaking buckets to raise funds”. He is a long standing member of the Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society and, before coming to live in the Isle of Man, had been a branch officer and historian for Margate RNLI Station.
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Notes to editors
• Join us for Ramsey lifeboat day on Saturday 4th August and show your support for your local lifeboat crew. There will be photograph/filming opportunities, and also opportunities to talk with members of Ramsey RNLI crew
• Ramsey lifeboat station was established in 1829 five years after the institution itself was founded. To learn more about the lifeboat station go to www.rnli.org.uk/ramsey
• RNLB ANN & JAMES RITCHIE is a Mersey Class Lifeboat designed for the RNLI and built by FBM Ltd of Cowes. The Ann & James Ritchie arrived at Ramsey on 5th July 1991 and took up station on 12th July 1991. She was funded by the late Mrs Ann Ritchie.
• Follow Ramsey RNLI Lifeboat on Facebook.
• The RNLI’s annual running costs are over £122M – approximately £335,000 per day.
• There are over 230 RNLI lifeboat stations across the UK, Isle of Man and Ireland, which are operated by 4,800 RNLI lifeboat crew members, of which 95 per cent are volunteers.
• 5 RNLI lifeboat stations are situated in the Isle of Man.
RNLI media contacts
For more information please telephone Theresa Shammon, RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for Ramsey RNLI Lifeboat Station on 07624 459347; or email ramsey@rnli.org.uk