RNLI 200 Voices

RNLI Heritage Officer Dr Joanna Bellis on fundraising chickens, and her favourite object in the RNLI Museum collection When you have 200 years’ worth of stories scattered around an organisation as far-flung as the RNLI, sometimes some detective work is in order. RNLI Heritage Officer Joanna Bellis reveals how the tales behind some her favourite artefacts in the RNLI’s collection came to light. Hea...

When he’s not on stage with Ed Sheeran, he’s on duty at Chiswick RNLI. Mark Pusey on the unlikely similarities between both When Mark Pusey discovered there were RNLI lifeboats on the River Thames, suddenly a lifelong dream of volunteering on the crew could become a reality – without leaving London. Session drummer Mark takes a break from Ed Sheeran’s Mathematics tour to talk about the realities o...

The day the RNLI rescued pirates – former Radio Caroline DJ Nick Richards reflects on the event that inspired a lifelong affinity with the charity The Mi Amigo was a rusting hulk. She had a seized engine, no ship’s wheel, and somebody had even made off with the compass. Yet, in the 1960s, this was a boat with legions of fans, including the DJs who called the Mi Amigo home. Nick Richards takes us b...

In 1915, seas carried extra danger. After a steamer is sunk by a submarine, RNLI lifeboat Lady Rothes is launched. Fraserburgh Sea Cadets pick up the story The champagne had barely dried on Fraserburgh’s newly named lifeboat, when her crew were called into the fray of a First World War rescue. The Lady Rothes had just been donated to the town by the Countess of Rothes’ father, grateful that his da...

Wild weather and forbidding seas aren’t the only challenges the RNLI has faced – Dr Sam Jones reveals how the charity we know today came about As with so many good beginnings, it all started in a pub. On 4 March, 1824, Sir William Hillary met Thomas Wilson in Bishopsgate’s London Tavern to establish the National Institution for the Preservation of Lives and Property from Shipwreck. But after an au...

The RNLI’s Senior Operations Manager explains how a lifeboat crew comes together How were lifeboat crews alerted in the days before pagers? What if a crew member’s pager goes off during Christmas dinner? Or a wedding? And why is a shout called a shout? The RNLI’s Paul Fisher reveals the surprising ways in which volunteer crews have been called into action to save those they’ve never met. The metho...

She flies a hovercraft for the RNLI. And flies the flag for female volunteers. Meet Leesa Espley In 2007, RNLI Hunstanton’s Leesa Espley became the first woman to gain a pilot’s licence to fly an RNLI hovercraft. But she had to do it the hard way – needing laser eye-surgery before she could take flight. Hear how times have changed for RNLI crews, and about what it’s like to pilot something with no...

Visual artist Sophie Dixon on a Northumberland heroine and the film she inspired On 7 September, 1838, a lighthouse-keeper’s daughter – Grace Darling – spotted shipwrecked survivors clinging to the rocks of the Farne Islands, Northumberland. After Grace and her father defied a raging storm to rescue them in an open rowing boat, Grace became a national – and international – celebrity, and was award...

After saving a surfer at Perranporth, Sophie became the first female RNLI lifeguard to be awarded a medal. She wishes her Dad had lived to see it Growing up in Cornwall, keeping vigil over those in the sea was a way of life for Sophie Grant-Crookston. When a relentless swell trapped a surfer in one of Perranporth’s notoriously dangerous Bat Caves, her years of training paid off. Sophie and her fel...

Actor and sailor Griff Rhys Jones on why he feels safer on stage than on water. The sea doesn’t stick to a script, he warns Griff Rhys Jones is no stranger to water. Hear why to this day he still gets a nagging feeling about the sea – a place he regards at times as a place of frenzy. His appreciation for the RNLI goes all the way back to his early trips to West Mersea, where his father once tied a...

Stories from the veteran Largs lifeboatman who was instrumental in saving 296 lives The 49er – wearing different hats, Ronnie Copeland served Largs RNLI for almost half a century. He still can’t walk away, visiting local primary schools to teach water safety. Discover how the RNLI has come on leaps and bounds. And hear about an unusual rescue. From Minnie Mouse to Spider-Man and Winnie the Pooh, ...

Legendary RNLI fundraiser Mary Taylor on the pull of the lifeboat station The smell of the boathouse; the roar of the engine – for the late Mary Taylor, otherwise known as Lifeboat Mary, Padstow Lifeboat Station had a very special appeal. For one thing, her family’s RNLI connections reach all the way back to 1883. To Mary, the lifeboat was more than a boat – it was a friend. 200 Voices is produced...

Who doesn’t love a singalong? Meet the RNLI Water Safety Officer whose talks enthral adults as much as kids Surprisingly, around 50% of those who get into trouble in the water never intend to get wet in the first place. So education is key. Hunstanton RNLI’s Lifeboat Visits Officer Kate Craven reveals how the Hunstanton volunteers draw in a crowd, why you can’t beat a catchy song, and why, after t...

We shall save them on the beaches: RNLI Archivist John Ray on the Ramsgate crew who braved bombs and bullets at Dunkirk The sea is daunting enough. But perhaps never more so than in May, 1940, when two RNLI lifeboat crews launched into the Second World War. Joining an armada of 700 ‘little ships’, the volunteers embarked on Operation Dynamo. Evading enemy submarines, bursting shells and raging fir...

Best-selling author Ann Cleeves on the real-life drama that earned the RNLI a place close to her heart It’s no coincidence that Ilfracombe RNLI makes an appearance in Ann Cleeves’s latest book, The Raging Storm (published in August 2023). Learn why Ann will always be grateful to the RNLI. And hear about the book, set in a remote fishing village in a part of Devon where both the lead character – Ma...

It was the race that changed yacht racing. RNLI Baltimore’s Kieran Cotter on the Fastnet tragedy of 1979 Former Baltimore RNLI Coxswain Kieran Cotter joined the RNLI when he was just 19, and would go on to receive an RNLI Bronze Medal for Gallantry. In August 1979, Kieran and his fellow crew members were called to aid sailors competing in the Fastnet Race, in which 5 yachts sank and 15 lives were...

The RNLI is what happens to you when you’re making other plans – an ex-US-Coast-Guarder reveals why he dropped anchor in the UK After 24 years with the United States Coast Guard, JoJo Mains gave up chasing drug-smugglers and chased a new adventure instead – joining the RNLI. Castles, he expected. Self-righting boats and volunteers, he didn’t. Find out why the RNLI holds a little magical place in h...

After being given days to live, Timothy Spall vowed that if he ever recovered he would get a boat – he did both. Hear about his close encounters Actor Timothy Spall isn’t short of maritime material. He once almost tethered his boat to a WW2 wreck housing 1,400 tonnes of high explosives. And once navigated what Admiral Nelson regarded as the most dangerous stretch of water he’d ever encountered. Wh...

Irish priest – and Courtown crew member – Father Tom Dalton on his role when rescue turns to recovery RNLI lifesavers are an eclectic bunch with a common goal – saving lives. But how do they feel when a life can’t be saved? Wexford priest and Courtown volunteer Father Tom shares his perspective on the importance of listening and closure. And says there’s always a place for what he calls ‘the medic...

After losing her sister Dara at sea, Niamh Fitzpatrick reveals what the RNLI means to her On 14 March, 2017, Irish Coast Guard helicopter 116 crashed into the sea off County Mayo, resulting in the loss of four crew members. One of those lost was Niamh Fitzpatrick’s sister, Dara. The RNLI recovered Dara’s body. Niamh explains how the RNLI helped her through the loss of her sister, and why the famil...

Chris Beardshaw on the inspiration behind his medal-winning RNLI Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show To help him create the RNLI’s Chelsea Flower Show Garden, Chris Beardshaw visited Portishead RNLI as well as the charity’s all-weather lifeboat centre. Hear him talk about what inspired him, and get an insight into why he thinks the charity provides ‘the gold standard of rescue services’.  Chris...

Volunteer Helm Aileen Jones recalls the day she and her crew saved two lives, which resulted in an RNLI Bronze Medal for Gallantry RNLI Porthcawl’s first female Helm – Aileen Jones – takes us back to 24 August 2004, and the day she helped to save two lives. The rescue resulted in Aileen becoming the charity’s first female crew member to be awarded an RNLI Gallantry Medal. What advice would she giv...

There’s only one thing worse than seeing your children in trouble in the water – not seeing them. A mum recalls the day her daughters were swept out at Barmouth We all hope we’ll never have to make a 999 call. But in August 2022, Milena – mother of 10-year-old Elsie and 12-year-old Mabel – had to do just that. Playing in the surf one minute, the girls were suddenly swept out to sea. As the two sis...

Jim Moir, otherwise known as Vic Reeves, on the perils of the sea. And charcoal Best known for his comedy, Jim Moir’s twin passions are actually art and birds, which led to the Sky Arts show Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir. His latest exhibition – ‘Comestibles Sir?’ – runs until 26 August at the Cornwall Contemporary Gallery. He talks to 200 Voices about getting his hands – and face – dirty...

Behind the scenes of Saving Lives at Sea: what is it about the RNLI series that keeps us watching?  At once heart-warming and heartbreaking, the BBC’s Saving Lives at Sea has had us hooked for eight series. Senior Producer Corinna Gallop shares why she thinks we keep watching and explains how the programme has changed her. Hear why it’s the series she’s most proud of.  Series 8 of Saving Lives at...