Dimensions
270 x 220 x 27mm
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea. For nearly 200 years its volunteers have shown courage and selflessness in facing storm and shipwreck to offer assistance. Never taken for granted, these qualities of service transcend the centuries to ring as true now as in the earliest days of the lifeboats.
This unprecedented book is a photographic celebration of everyday bravery, compassion and outstanding commitment in the toughest of conditions. From the Cornish coasts to the Shetland Isles, we join crewman and photographer Nigel Millard as he travels the length of Britain and Ireland, living and working with his fellow lifeboatmen and accompanying them on their rescue missions. In 2011 alone some 7,976 people were saved by lifeboat crews and a further 17,670 were assisted by the service's new lifeguard units, with lifeboats launching on average almost 20 times a day. This book honours the dedication of generations of hard-working people who generously give their time to those in danger and their families who wait for news while the lifeboats are out - a visual tribute to the sea and those who go to it.
This is a simple story of a voluntary rescue service, of men and women happy to race to the assistance of strangers at all hours of day or night should ever the need arise. We hope these photographs show something of this spirit.
