83 SPONSORED BY PREMIER NOSS ON DART
THE ROLE OF AN RNLI EDUCATION VOLUNTEER. AUGUST 2008 TO AUGUST 2021 I
became an RNLI education volunteer in 2008 when the Dart lifeboat had been operating for
a year and retired from the role in August 2021. Our children had been taught at the local primary schools and my wife spent the majority of her teaching career as a reception teacher at Stoke Fleming county primary school. As a result I had plenty of contacts with the local schools. I had always enjoyed communicating with children and my favourite year working in hospital, as a preparation for general practice, was in paediatrics. My first manager was a very popular retired headmaster from Bristol and the emphasis was on teaching techniques. I concentrated on visiting the local Primary schools and then alternated those with visits to the Primary schools in Totnes. In my early days the RNLI ran a
very effective fundraising event in January each year known as SOS day. I would talk at school assemblies about the recent activities of the new Dart lifeboat, before going round the classes for the rest of the day, talking to the children in different age groups between the ages of five and eleven. The schools entered wholeheartedly into the fundraising side and the pupils came in mufti or perhaps Stars or Stripes to fit in with SOS. As an example of their enthusiasm Dartmouth Academy raised over £500 during the event in 2014.
The children in reception loved meeting a crewmember who would come in his or her full dry suit, lifejacket and helmet. Many of the crew took part over the years and were a great success in answering the children’s questions. The schools were all keen that the RNLI should provide beach safety advice and there was usually
The schools were all keen that the RNLI should provide beach safety advice.
a frantic time after SATS in early May and before the half term week. A different school would be visited every day. The RNLI education department provided posters illustrating hidden dangers on the
beach and later in a harbour or along the riverside. These could be put into PowerPoint presentations, along with photos of how our lifeboat had been involved in examples such as inflatables being blown offshore or children getting too close to rough seas. Bob Thomas, the Dart lifeboat Boathouse Manager, was an invaluable helper over many years, projecting the different slides to illustrate the talks and entering into the demonstration of how a riptide occurs and how to get out of it. The children loved coming down
to the lifeboat station and seeing how quickly the crew could get into their protective clothing. They could also get really close to the lifeboat and its equipment. As well as schoolchildren, groups such as the Dartmouth Scouts, Guides, Beavers and Sea Cadets all visited.
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