Since its founding in 1824, volunteers at Britain's Royal National Lifeboat Institution have been saving lives.
146,000 people have been saved by the RNLI since its founding 200 years ago. In 2023 alone, 10,734 people were helped by lifeboat crews, 19,979 aided by lifeguards and 269 lives saved, all of which would be impossible without volunteers.
Sir William Hillary’s vision for a service dedicated to saving lives at sea became a reality in Bishopsgate’s trendy City of London Tavern on 4 March 1824. Living in Douglas on the Isle of Man, Hillary saw the treacherous nature of the sea first-hand. He witnessed dozens of shipwrecks around the Manx coast and saved many lives with the help of locals. In the early 19th century there was an average of 1,800 shipwrecks a year around our coasts. And the danger of shipwreck was an accepted way of life at sea. But Hillary refused to sit by and watch people drown.
Although its principle has remained unchanged – saving those in peril at sea and educating on the potential dangers that come with entering waters – its logistics and operations have changed unrecognisably since 1824.
Back then, volunteer crews used wooden lifeboats with oars and sails to save those at sea. Now, modern technology and motor-powered all-weather lifeboats help those in trouble across UK waters, with the charity comprising of more than 238 lifeboat stations and 5,700 volunteers on call 24/7.
This year, celebrations are high as the charity celebrates its 200 year anniversary – and a major artwork will be touring around the UK in 2025 to honour the efforts of its volunteer crews.
Sea Like A Mirror will tour across six lifeboat station towns across the UK – Whitstable, Cromer, Barrow-in-Furness, Western-super-Mare, Cleethorpes and Gravesend – combining sculpture, film and music from a variety of artists, produced through visiting lifeboat stations and these seaside towns themselves.
Dates and details of the full programme will be announced in spring 2025.