The RNLI in 1940

At Dunkirk 19 RNLI lifeboats formed part of the armada of little boats to evacuate the British Expeditionary Force and these boats alone brought across thousands of men in multiple trips. One lifeboat was lost and all the remaining 18 boats sustained damage. The financial cost to the RNLI at the time was £8000 (over £500,000 in today's money).

Amble lifeboat

1940 saw a massive increase in the activity of the RNLI saving 2,302 lives an average of 44 lives. This compared to an average of 21 a week in the whole of the 1914-18 war. The RNLI awarded 64 gold, silver and bronze medals - the equivalent number of awards had been awarded over six years preceding the War.

Air warfare featured heavily in their rescues at this desperate time. In the words of one anonymous rescued RAF officer of the time:

"When you arrived I had given up hope of being picked up alive, and I doubt whether I could have lasted more than a few minutes. Your skill in finding me in a rough sea seems a miracle to me, and goes to prove that you and your fellows are doing a magnificent job of work."

28 launches going to the aid of downed German aircraft. The RNLI did not discriminate in the finest tradition of humanity that we see to this day.