Launch a memory lifeboat at Wells has even more names

A new all-weather RNLI lifeboat to be based at Wells, will carry the names of a further 5,000 people, following record take-up of the original 10,000 names.

The Shannon class lifeboat Duke of Edinburgh, currently being built at the RNLI’s All-Weather Lifeboat Centre, is the third to be part of the charity’s Launch a Memory fundraising campaign and the first to be based in England.

Back in June, members of the public were offered the opportunity to commemorate a loved one by making a donation online and submitting the name of someone they wanted to remember.

Each name will be featured within the lifeboat’s letters and numbers, or ‘decal’ ‘RNLI 13-46’, displayed on the vessel’s hull.

In just four months, more than 10,000 people have pledged their loved ones’ names, prompting the RNLI to open up space to take the total to 15,000.

A second decal will be placed on the lifeboat’s wheelhouse which is the cabin that sits at the top of the vessel.

The £2.5m Shannon class is the fastest all-weather lifeboat in the RNLI fleet.

It was funded in part through an appeal in the local Wells community, and by the Civil Service charity The Lifeboat Fund.

The new boat will be housed in a brand new boathouse, currently under construction next to Beach Road and due for completion in time for the Shannon’s scheduled arrival in late 2022.

Peter Rainsford, chair of Wells Lifeboat, said: "We were so proud to be able to bring Launch A Memory to north Norfolk, and we knew it would be popular, but we’ve been blown away by the speed with which these 10,000 names have been pledged.

"We’re incredibly thankful to all those who have made a donation.

"RNLI lifeboat crews are busier than ever. The Launch a Memory campaign, while a fundraiser for the charity, is also a way for us to say thank you to those people who support the lifeboat service and our volunteer lifeboat crews. "It’s humbling to think that when our new Shannon lifeboat arrives, we’ll carry with us the names of 15,000 loved ones every time we launch."