Tribute to Redcar RNLI crews unveiled
A new tribute has been unveiled in Redcar which acknowledges the work of town's volunteer lifeboat crews who have served their community since the station was founded in 1802. The tribute, in the cemetery on Redcar Lane, Redcar, was officially opened in a moving ceremony attended by local dignitaries and the town's MP on Sunday 24 May 2009.

During the ceremony, a memorial to the townsfolk of Redcar who have lost their lives at sea was also unveiled. The two tributes, mounted on stones, are sited in a memorial garden which has been painstakingly refurbished by The Friends of Redcar Cemetery over the past three years.

Lord Zetland, President of the RNLI Zetland Lifeboat Museum, recounted the history of Redcar's first lifeboat, named after his ancestors, and which arrived in Redcar on 7 October 1802. The Zetland, the oldest existing lifeboat in the world, is credited with saving over 500 lives, and is housed a few hundred yards from the town's operational RNLI station.

The ceremony was also attended by the Mayor of Redcar and Cleveland, Councillor Brian Briggs and his wife Marjorie, the Mayoress. Redcar MP, Vera Baird QC, praised the work of the RNLI crews in Redcar. Afterwards she said, 'The lifeboat station is at the core of the town's history. It's a great privilege to attend the ceremony today.'

Redcar RNLI senior helmsman, Mike Picknett, assisted in the ceremony and represented both the RNLI and the families of those who have lost loved ones in tragedies off the coast of Redcar. Three members of the Picknett family died in 1901 when they were thrown from their fishing coble while attempting to rescue the crew of the trawler 'Honoria'.

The lifeboat tribute bears an engraving of the Zetland lifeboat and reads;

'THE FRIENDS OF REDCAR CEMETERY
ERECTED THIS STONE IN 2009

When I am called to duty Lord, wherever gales may rage,
Give me strength to save a life, whatever be their age,
Help me to brave the tempest before it's too late,
And save some struggling seaman from the horror of their fate
For I am a Lifeboatman

IN MEMORY TO ALL THOSE BURIED IN THIS CEMETERY WHO
RISKED THEIR LIVES SAVING OTHERS FROM THE SEA'

...first published 24 May 2009