Colourised images showcasing the heroism and community spirit of early lifeboat crews and volunteers have been released by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) ahead of its 200th anniversary.
The 11 candid snapshots depict people and events from the charity’s early years, from lifeboats in action to fundraising campaigns.
Featured in the collection is a colourised 1916 photograph of RNLI lifesaver Henry Blogg, who retired in 1947 after 53 years of service on Cromer’s lifeboats and helped save 873 lives at sea.
After the lifeboatman’s death in 1954, Viscount Templewood called him “one of the bravest men who ever lived”.
The photographs also highlight the importance of action taken by volunteers on land.
One image shows a group of Plymouth children collecting money for the charity in 1939 while another from the same year depicts a group of Northumberland women launchers reeling in a lifeboat.
Hayley Whiting, RNLI heritage and archive research manager, said: “The carefully coloured images illustrate just a few highlights of the incredible history of lifesaving over the previous two centuries, where over 144,000 lives have been saved to date.”
After the original black-and-white images had been cleaned of dust and scratches, the RNLI’s heritage team consulted archive records to produce historically accurate colourised versions using Adobe Photoshop.
Lifeboats existed before the RNLI, with the first purpose-built craft stationed at South Shields in 1790. It was almost another 35 years before the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was established by Sir William Hillary, in March 1824.
The scale of today’s operation is staggering. RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews and lifeguards saved 506 lives in 2022 alone and helped 39,680 souls. Tragically, around 140 people die annually in UK and Irish coastal waters and the RNLI’s vision is to save every single one of these. The RNLI works with communities and partners to try to prevent people getting into danger in the first place, with males over 15-years-old most at risk. It is not just about the crew members braving the waters (of whom only one in 10 has a maritime profession), there are thousands of dedicated fundraisers too, plus volunteer shore crews helping with the launching and recovering of lifeboats. The 238 UK and Irish lifeboat stations cover 19,000 miles of coastline, with 441 lifeboats (including relief-fleet vessels) and seven hovercraft, whilst RNLI lifeguards patrol 240 UK and Channel Island beaches.
READ MORE: The Royal Mint launch a 50p commemorative coin celebrating 200 years of RNLI lifesaving.
