Focus on… our amazing volunteers

As we’ve done with some of our fantastic fundraisers, we’re going to be shining a spotlight on some of our amazing volunteers, looking at what brought them to the RNLI and how their work helps to support our lifesaving service. For our first article, we spoke to Nigel Gilchrist, volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer at Southend-on-Sea, about his RNLI journey.

Nigel’s first encounter with the RNLI came in 1989, when he and a friend headed out fishing on Nigel’s small boat. Mechanical issues meant that a tow back to harbour was required, which was provided by a local Police launch. Whilst heading back to safety, Nigel spotted West Mersea’s lifeboat out on exercise.

Nigel explains: ‘Soon there was this impressive RIB with four guys dressed in yellow suits, yellow wellies and helmets alongside us. They came to see if everything was ok and stayed with us until we reached our mooring. That is when I found the RNLI.’

Over the following years Nigel supported the charity as an offshore member, as well as buying a host of RNLI merchandise, including a polo shirt from every RNLI station he visited.

The event that turned Nigel from keen supporter to volunteer came in August 2020. Nigel was delivering a yacht from Hamble to Largs when he and the two others on board sailed into a gale which had not been forecast. They attempted to head to safety, keeping in constant contact with the Coast Guard, who requested the launch of Arklow’s all-weather lifeboat to assist Nigel and his friends.

Nigel says: ‘It is absolutely true that there is no greater sight than seeing that big orange and blue RNLI lifeboat coming to help you in your time of need.’

The Arklow crew were eventually able to tow Nigel and his crew back to the calm waters of Wicklow harbour, the nearest place of safety.

Nigel remembers: ‘One of the Wicklow volunteers said “come over to the lifeboat station, there’s a hot cuppa and some pizza waiting for you”. The RNLI volunteers were the friendliest, most welcoming people I have ever met, even giving up their time the following day to give us a tour of their wonderful station. They really touched our hearts.’

The experience made one thing very clear for Nigel – he wanted to give back to the RNLI.  He began by taking part in the Launch a Memory campaign, adding the name of his much-missed father to Clifden RNLI’s new Shannon class lifeboat.

After an emotional day at the Launch a Memory event at the RNLI College in Poole, Nigel started searching for somewhere to meet others who had donated to the campaign. When his search proved fruitless, he contacted the Launch a Memory team. A few emails later, the RNLI Launch a Memory Supporters Facebook group launched in July 2022, with Nigel acting as volunteer administrator.

Six months later and the group had swelled to 800 members. To help manage the load, Nigel approached fellow group member Andy Hobkinson to ask if he would consider becoming an admin. It soon emerged that until recently Andy had served as a volunteer lifeboat press officer (LPO) – a role that would soon see Nigel take further steps in his volunteering journey.

Nigel says: ‘I had always wanted to join a lifeboat crew but never lived close enough to a lifeboat station. I hadn’t been aware of the lifeboat press officer role before, but it seemed like a great fit for me, and I headed straight to the RNLI website to see if there were any roles available’.

Keen to start making a difference, Nigel initially applied for an LPO position around 65 miles from his home, but just two weeks later saw that his closest station at Southend-on-Sea was also looking for a new volunteer to fulfil the role.

‘I could barely hold back my excitement for my first meeting’, says Nigel, ‘but I ended up being surprisingly calm and focused - it’s the nature of the RNLI to make you feel welcome and relaxed’. Later the same evening Nigel was offered the position. He says: ‘I can’t remember when I had felt the same excitement and buzz, and my partner Nicky was as excited as I was’.

Nigel has now been LPO at Southend for just over two years, as well as continuing to grow the Launch a Memory group to over 2,900 members. Other admins for the group have also been inspired to become volunteers, with Andy returning to Newquay RNLI as deputy LPO, and others taking up roles as shop volunteers, fundraisers and shore crew.

And Nigel didn’t stop there. Alongside his LPO role he enjoyed helping with the launching and recovery of the lifeboats, something that was soon noticed by Southend’s volunteer lifeboat operations manager (LOM). In May this year, Nigel qualified as shore crew at Southend RNLI and is now training as a launch vehicle driver and machinery operator.

Nigel reflects: ‘It’s incredible to think how a meeting with Arklow’s lifeboat in a stormy Irish sea has potentially made all this happen. I truly feel like part of the team at Southend, part of the family. I fully intend to carry on giving everything I can to the role and to the RNLI, the charity I have a passion for’.

If you’ve been inspired by Nigel to explore volunteering further, there is a wealth of information available on our website. And if you know a volunteer that you’d like to see in the spotlight in the future, let us know at [email protected].