A number of awards have been established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) since its creation in 1824. None are approved by the Crown, and are therefore unofficial awards. As such, they do not appear in the official British order of wear,[1] although the principal lifesaving award, the Medal of the RNLI, can be worn on the right breast in uniform by members of the British armed forces.[2]
RNLI Medal, version awarded 1862–1902Ribbon: RNLI Medal and Decoration
The medal was established in 1824, the same year the RNLI was founded, to reward "humane and intrepid exertions in saving life from shipwrecks on our coasts, deemed sufficiently conspicuous to merit honourable distinction".[3] The medal can be awarded for saving life at sea in gold, silver and, since 1917, in bronze.[4]
While awards are now only made to lifeboat crew who risk their lives in rescue attempts,[5] a number of nineteenth century medals were bestowed on others who saved life from the sea. These included coastguard officers[6] and those who affected a rescue by wading or swimming into the sea from the shore.[7]
Apart from the metal of manufacture, the design of the three classes is the same. When established in 1824, the obverse bore the effigy of King George IV, the first patron of the Institution. In 1862 this was changed to a profile of Queen Victoria, with changes to Edward VII in 1902 and George V in 1911. In 1937 Royal permission to portray George VI was refused, as the award is not granted by the Crown, and since then the profile of the RNLI founder Sir William Hillary has been used.[8] The reverse, designed by William Wyon, shows three sailors in a lifeboat rescuing a fourth from the sea, below the inscription "Let not the deep swallow me up" taken from Psalm 69.[9] The reverse of the Edward VII version shows a figure of Hope adjusting the lifejacket of a lifeboatman. The original reverse was restored for issues from 1911.[8] The medal is engraved on the edge with the name of the recipient and the date the award was approved.[8]
The very first medals were presented without any means of suspension, and then with a suspension loop for the plain dark blue ribbon. Since about 1852 the current suspension, in the form of two dolphins, has been used, and additional awards in the same class have been recognised by clasps attached to the ribbon.[8]
Up to 2004, a total of 150 gold, 1,563 silver and 791 bronze medals had been awarded.[4] Recipients of the Silver Medal have included Grace Darling, who achieved national fame in 1838 when she took part in her lighthouse keeper father's rescue of nine people whose ship had run aground off the coast of Northumberland coast. Her father, William Darling, also received the Silver Medal.[10]
RNLI Decoration
The Decoration of the Institution was awarded for conspicuous and special services to the RNLI, other than actual personal life-saving.[11] Established in 1901, many awards were made for long and devoted service by Branch Honorary Secretaries and Ladies Auxiliaries.[12]
A new design was approved in 1912, to be awarded in both gold and silver. Awards were discontinued in May 1914 after objections were raised by King George V that the decoration, a private award without Royal sanction, conflicted with the principle of the Crown as the fount of honour.[12]
The decoration of 1901 was a circular gilt medal 27mm in diameter and surmounted by a crown. It depicts a lifeboat going to the assistance of a sailing ship in distress, surrounded by a white enamel lifebelt bearing the words Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The reverse in plain. It is suspended from a plain dark blue ribbon, shaped in a bow when worn by women. The 1912 design, manufactured by Garrard & Co of London, was a stylised cross in dark blue enamel, with the letters R N L I in the angles of the cross, interlaced with a rope.[12]
RNLI Long Service Medal
RNLI Long Service awards Above: Lapel badge, awarded to 2020 Right: Medal with 60 year clasp
Established in 2020, it is awarded for twenty years service with the RNLI, either as crew or as a support volunteer, and replaces the award of enamel lapel badges. Clasps, attached to the ribbon, are presented to mark each further period of ten years service. Clasps are inscribed 30, 4050 or 60 Years, as appropriate. By September 2020, a total of 733 medals had been issued, including several with the 60 Year clasp.[13]
The medal is circular and is struck in silver-plated base metal. The obverse shows the left-facing bust of the RNLI founder Sir William Hillary, surrounded by the words Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The reverse shows a representation of two outstretched hands clasped above a raging sea with, on a surrounding band, the inscription "With courage nothing is impossible". Each medal is named to the recipient on the rim. The ribbon, suspended from a fixed straight suspender, is navy blue with narrow red and yellow edges, the colours of the RNLI.[13]
Other awards
Notable service that does not justify the award of a medal can be rewarded with either the "Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum" or a "Framed Letter of Appreciation".
The RNLI have also established a number of awards that can be awarded to groups, including boat crews. Examples include the Ralph Glister Award, inaugurated in 1968, awarded annually to a rescue boat crew who have given outstanding service;[14][15] and the Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award, established in 1986, given annually for the most meritorious rescue carried out by an inshore lifeboat crew.[16]
Official awards to the RNLI
Members of the RNLI have also received a number of official awards, both for gallantry and distinguished service. These include Henry Blogg and William Fleming who both received, in addition to a number of RNLI awards, the George Cross;[17] and Edward Parker and Howard Primrose Knight, both awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for their "gallantry and determination when ferrying troops from the beaches" during the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation.[18]
↑ For example: In 1832 a silver medal was awarded to coastguard who saved crew of a wrecked sloop. "Station history". rnli.org. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
↑ Examples of silver medals: "1847: Two sisters waded into a stormy sea to rescue 3 men from stranded smack. "Fishguard Lifeboat Station". Historypoints.org. Retrieved 29 January 2021. 1884: A woman on shore held onto a rope in a storm, allowing 15 crew of ship to get ashore. "The woman who saved 15 sailors from drowning". BBC News. 10 August 2018. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018."
Cox, Barry, ed. (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry, The Complete Record of Royal National Lifeboat Institution Gallantry Medals and how they were won. 1824-1996. Spink & Son Ltd., London. ISBN0907605893.
Dorling, Captain H. Taprell (1956). Ribbons and Medals. A.H.Baldwin & Sons, London.
Farrell, Tony (December 2020). "Royal National Lifeboat Institution Long Service Medal". Orders & Medals Research Society Journal. 59 (2). ISSN1474-3353.
Myers, J.A.L. (June 2003). "Golden Jubilee Medal – Royal National Lifeboat Institution". Orders & Medals Research Society Journal. 42 (2). ISSN1474-3353.
The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI, is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circumstances where military honours are not appropriate.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It is one of several lifeboat services operating in the same area.
The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was, until 1993, a British military decoration for gallantry in action for petty officers and seamen of the Royal Navy, including Warrant Officers and other ranks of the Royal Marines. It was formerly awarded to personnel of other Commonwealth countries. In 1943 a Royal Air Force version was created for conspicuous gallantry in action against the enemy in the air.
Henry George Blogg GC BEM was a lifeboatman from Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk, England, and the most decorated in Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) history.
Walmer Lifeboat Station was established in 1830. Over two thousand ships are believed to have been wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, and the masts of several wrecks are visible from the shore at low tide. Hence there have always been two lifeboats located at the joined towns of Deal and Walmer along the coast opposite the sands.
The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve, commonly known as the Reserve Decoration (RD) was a medal awarded to officers with at least fifteen years service in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) of the United Kingdom. The medal was instituted in 1908.
The Sea Gallantry Medal (SGM), is a United Kingdom award for civil gallantry at sea.
RNLB Mary Stanford was the Ballycotton Lifeboat from 1930 to 1959. Ballycotton is on Ireland's southern coast, a trade route to the Americas. There are many dangerous rocks and shallows with on-shore prevailing winds. Ballycotton has a long tradition of life-saving. Mary Stanford had 41 rescues, or "shouts", and saved 122 lives. She performed the notable Daunt Lightship rescue on 11 February 1936. After her withdrawal from service she lay for some years in a backwater of Dublin's Grand Canal Dock, but has now been returned to Ballycotton and restored.
William George Fleming GC (1865–1954) was a lifeboatman from Gorleston-on-Sea on the east coast of Norfolk, England. His service with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) spanned nearly fifty years, in which time he won the George Cross and the RNLI Medal in Gold and in Silver, and the Bronze Medal three times.
Ramsgate Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in the Port of Ramsgate in the English county of Kent. The station is one of the oldest to operate in the British Isles and has launched to many notable services. Among the awards won by its crews over the years are 42 RNLI medals, including 2 gold, 39 silver and 1 bronze, the last being awarded in 2000.
Angle Lifeboat Station, Angle, Pembrokeshire, Wales, first opened in 1868 after a request from the local Coastguard for a lifeboat station to be opened within the Milford Haven Waterway. Originally called Milford Lifeboat Station, in 1892 the name was officially changed by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) committee.
Torbay Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Brixham, Devon in England. Brixham Lifeboat Station was opened in 1866 but since 1924 has been known as 'Torbay'. Since 2005 it has operated a Severn-class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) together with a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat (ILB).
The Burma Gallantry Medal (BGM) was a military decoration awarded for acts of gallantry, in both war and peace, by Governor's commissioned officers, non-commissioned Officers and other ranks of the British Burmese military. These included its Army, Frontier Force, Military Police, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and Auxiliary Air Force. Clasps, attached to the ribbon, could be awarded to mark further awards of the medal.
Fishguard Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station.
Rhyl Lifeboat Station is located in the North Wales town of Rhyl and is part of the RNLI. For over 150 years, the Lifeboat Crew in Rhyl have been saving lives at sea. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1853 and the present station was opened in December 2001. The station operates a Shannon class all-weather boat (ALB) and an IB1 inshore lifeboat (ILB).
Hayling Island Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution station located on Hayling Island close to the town of Mengham in the English county of Hampshire. The station is located on the eastern side of Hayling island at the entrance to Chichester Harbour where it joins the major shipping route of the Solent, and is opposite the village of West Wittering. This major shipping route is busy at all times of the year and there are estimated to be 10,000 boats in the Chichester area alone. The Hayling Island station provides cover for the area 24 hours a day, all year, by means of two inshore rigid inflatable lifeboats placed on this station.
Shoreham Harbour Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in the town of Shoreham-by-Sea in the English county of West Sussex. It underwent extensive re-development in 2010 with a new purpose built boathall to accommodate its new Tamar-class all-weather lifeboat (AWB). It operates two lifeboats, the AWB RNLB Enid Collett(ON 1295) and the D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat RNLB Joan Woodland(D-784).
Aberystwyth Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station in the coastal resort of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, West Wales. It was established in 1861, but there has been a lifeboat serving the town since 1843.
Looe Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Looe, Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
Barmouth Lifeboat Station, based in Barmouth, Gwynedd, Wales, was established in the 1820s and the first lifeboat station was constructed in 1828 at a cost of £95.
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