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| Southend Lifeboatmen are February Pin-ups in the RNLI's 2001 legacy calendar |
Southend-on-Sea lifeboatmen are one of 12 crews that appear in this year's RNLI legacy calendar.
Senior Helmsman John Foster (38) and Crew Members Michael Whistler (39) and Ian Rees (33) feature in the Southend photograph taken for the
February section of the calendar.
The calendar recognises the crew for a lifeboat service that took place on 24 October 1999, for which Helmsman John Foster was awarded a
RNLI Bronze Medal and Crew Members Michael Whistler and Ian Rees received the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum.
Percy Garon II, Southend's Atlantic 21 inshore lifeboat, launched in some of the worst weather conditions experienced in the area for a decade and a half,
to go to the aid of three people aboard the angling boat Lady Jane. Despite the rough seas that threatened to capsize the lifeboat and the poor visibility,
the lifeboatmen reached the angling boat where they found two teenagers and a man, cold, wet and seasick. One by one they were transferred to the lifeboat
in the difficult and dangerous conditions - at one point Michael Whistler's prompt alert prevented a large wave washing Ian Rees and two of the casualties
out to sea. The survivors were landed safely and the lifeboat and crew returned to their station in the deteriorating weather conditions. The Lady Jane
eventually succumbed to the sea and sank.
Julia Fish, RNLI legacy development officer says: - "The legacy calendar is sent to solicitors to display in their offices. It highlights the hard work
and dedication of the volunteer lifeboat crews and increases public awareness about the importance of legacies to the RNLI, particularly as six out of
ten launches are only possible thanks to legacy income."
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