It was founded by Isle of Man native, Sir William Hilary, prompted by the loss of life at sea when there were over 1800 wrecks each year around the coast of Britain. He published a pamphlet appealing to prominent citizens and the Navy, to form an organisation to save lives in shipwrecks. It was unsuccessful; even the Navy refused to help.

Undiscouraged, he appealed once more to more philanthropic members of society and he gathered together a number of benefactors due to his unceasing lobbying, even as far as getting royal patronage from King George IV. As a result, on 4th March 1824 in the City of London Tavern, Bishopsgate, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was formed.

On 5th October 1854 the name was changed to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution — the RNLI which we know today.

Prior to this, fishing villages and towns around Scotland had their own lifeboats, communities such as Montrose, Fraserburgh, Arbroath and, of course, Newhaven. Newhaven’s boat was stationed at St Andrew’s Square but it fell into disrepair.

A new one was built and was moved to where the former Victoria School now stands. According to records it “got liberty to go to waste”, but in reality there was no real need for one as the fishermen, and more so the pilots, were always ready to go the assistance of any boat in need.

Accounts of the storm of 1881 attest to this. Fraserburgh had the first official RNLI lifeboat in 1858 and by the 1900’s there were 38 lifeboats around the Scottish coasts.

Funding for the Institution was mainly through businesses and well-known philanthropists. It wasn’t until a wealthy industrialist, Sir Charles Macara, was spurred into action by the deaths of 27 men from Southport and St Anne’s, who were trying to rescue seamen from the shipwrecked vessel Mexico.

He organized a grand fund raising parade on 10th October 1891 in Manchester. Targeting the ordinary man in the street instead of the usual sources. It was a huge success with over £5000 being donated, the equivalent of around £800,000 today. This is recognized as the world’s first ever street collection. Known as Lifeboat Saturday, it became an annual event in Manchester and was replicated in towns and cities throughout the country.

Newhaven Heritage is fortunate to have a hand written diary of the Fisherwomen’s Choir from 1927-1977, which shows details of various times when they supported the RNLI. They performed at grand occasions such as the International Lifeboat Conference in the Freemason’s Hall with HRH Princess Marina, various Lords and the Lord Provost Weatherston in attendance.

The General Meeting of the RNLI in the Merchant’s Hall Edinburgh, with the Lord High Commissioner Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope as the main speaker; a concert in Rosyth for Admiral Cunningham-Graham; functions in the Caledonian Hotel and the RNLI 150th Anniversary Concert in the Usher Hall. The Fisherwomen’s Choir also entertained and raised funds in small fishing communities around the country such as Crail and Elie.

Lifeboat Saturday was an annual event for fund raising and many will be familiar with the paper flags and lifeboats that you pinned on to your coat when you dropped your donation into the lifeboat, which was in lieu of the usual tin that other charities used. At Newhaven Heritage we continue the tradition of supporting the RNLI by taking donations at the Police Box every Saturday.

Info: Dougie Ratcliffe of Newhaven Heritage at boxmasternh@gmail.com

Heart of Newhaven

he tallest knitted christmas tree in Scotland project has gone beyond the halfway mark. The knitters are aiming for an ambitious height of between five and six metres for the tree, about the height of a giraffe, but are more than happy with progress so far.

The veritable army of knitters in Edinburgh and beyond has been busy knitting multi-toned green squares and colourful Christmas baubles and decorations for several months now. They have 5,000 squares and need another 2,500 while the pile of decorations has reached the 1,000 mark, about half of what is needed.

The community project, based at the Heart of Newhaven Community, has given people across Edinburgh a purpose for their knitting and is creating a real sense of community. The tree is also being supported by knitters from as far afield as Liverpool, Southport, Luton, Norwich, Fife and Inverness.

Children at local primary schools and local homes have been learning to knit with the help of the Tree@The Heart supporters. It’s hoped the project will encourage donations to improve disabled access, while local charity Homestart will also benefit. The official reveal takes place on 30th November. Find out more at The Heart of Newhaven’s Facebook page. ■

Dave Pickering