New lifeboat to be named Elizabeth and Leonard
Amble RNLI’s new all-weather lifeboat will be named ‘Elizabeth and Leonard’, in memory of a couple whose legacy will help partially to fund it.
The state-of-the-art new Shannon class lifeboat is currently being built at the RNLI’s All-weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole, Dorset.
The total cost of the vessel is £2M and the charity still needs to raise the remaining £200,000 to enable it to complete its construction. A fundraising campaign continues, with the total amount raised standing at over £155,000.
Mrs. Elizabeth Foley Brumfield from Hull left a generous legacy to the RNLI following her death in 2013.
She requested that it be used to purchase an all-weather lifeboat in memory of her and her late husband, Leonard.
Elizabeth was a lifelong supporter of the RNLI and her father was a marine engineer. She owned a holiday home in Filey and took a keen interest in the charity’s lifeboat station there, often supporting its special event days.
Amble RNLI Coxswain, John Wingfield, said: ‘We’re extremely grateful that Mrs. Foley left such a generous legacy to our charity. Her overwhelming support means that construction of our new Shannon class lifeboat is well underway.
‘It’s exciting to know that the hull of the lifeboat is complete and that our lifesaving vessel is taking shape. Though it’s still early days, our volunteer crew is really looking forward to training on and trialling the new lifeboat when she arrives.’
Gillian King, RNLI Community Fundraising Manager, added: ‘It’s fantastic that we’ve received such an amazing legacy.
These vital gifts really do help to fund the future of lifesaving at sea. ‘I’d also like to say a massive “thank you” to everyone who is supporting our ongoing appeal to raise £200,000 towards the cost of our new lifeboat.
‘We’re well over the halfway mark, a point we couldn’t have reached without the generosity of the general public, our supporters, Amble RNLI Lifeboat Fundraising (ALF) Committee and The Northumberland Gazette’s Jam Jar Army appeal.’
To support the ongoing Shannon appeal or to get involved with fundraising, please contact:
gill_king@rnli.org.uk or see ALF’s Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/AmbleLifeboat/
