Retiring Boss Makes A Meal Of It!
After almost a quarter of a century of service to the RNLI the man at the helm of the Redcar lifeboat station has hung up his sea boots for the last time.

Ian Readman, having reached the RNLI’s retirement age of 70, has stood down as Lifeboat Operations Manager (LOM) at Redcar.

Ian joined the station as a Deputy Launching Authority in 1983 and became Honorary Secretary two years later in 1985. Ian’s title changed to LOM in 2003.

Shortly after his appointment as Honorary Secretary Ian successfully guided the lifeboat station and its volunteer crew through the transition from an offshore lifeboat station to an inshore one with the introduction of the Atlantic 21 class lifeboat.

Ian recalls ‘At the time it was a bitter pill for some to swallow.

‘Redcar had had “big boats” since the Zetland lifeboat arrived in 1802 and the crew and the town were proud of the history of those boats.

‘For some the change was too much to accept and we lost a number of superb crew at that time.

‘Time was to prove the RNLI had made the right decision.

‘Changing from an 8 knots boat to a 30 knots one meant we became an extremely busy station.’

While Ian has been in charge of the station, the crew have been presented with 22 awards for bravery including the RNLI’s bronze medal for gallantry awarded to former helmsman Peter Hodge for a rescue of two people from the base of the cliffs at Saltburn in 1992.

In all the lifeboats have launched 750 times while Ian has been in charge and the crews have been credited with assisting over 1000 people.

Modest Ian said of the crew ‘They did a great job for me and are incredibly dedicated. I'm delighted to have been involved with them - my role paled into insignificance compared to what they do at sea.

‘The RNLI has worked out that while I was at the station there were 154 people who would not be here today without the work of the Redcar crews.’

At a celebration meal to mark his retirement Ian and his wife Pat were joined by former members of the Redcar crew along with representatives from neighbouring RNLI stations and the Redcar ladies lifeboat guild.

Vera Baird QC, MP for Redcar, attended the celebration and praised Ian for his contribution to the community of Redcar.

Vera said ‘I’d like to thank Ian on behalf of everyone in the Redcar area for his many years of dedicated service to the RNLI.

‘I have visited the station on many occasions and Ian has always been the perfect combination of ambassador and station manager for the RNLI.’

To mark his years of dedication to the RNLI Ian was presented with a Long Service Vellum by RNLI Divisional Inspector of Lifeboats Andrew Ashton. The donors of Redcar’s two current lifeboats travelled from Leicester and Peterborough to present Ian with personal gifts and the crew themselves gave him a GPS system for his car. Ian’s wife Pat was presented with a bouquet of flowers by the station’s youngest volunteer crew member, 18-year-old Liam Rogers.

Speaking of his retirement, Ian told the gathering, ‘Being in the RNLI was like having a big old grandfather clock in the hall. While it’s there ticking away in the background, day after day after day, you never really notice it.

‘But when it stops, you can actually hear the silence!

‘I shall really miss the day to day activities but I’m delighted to have been asked to stay connected with the station and it’s wonderful crew by being chairman of the management committee there.’

Ian's first role as Chairman was to present Long Service Vellums to retired crew members Graeme Cocks and Gordon Young.

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