UP CLOSE with Teddington RNLI Lifeboat Station: Saving lives on the Thames for over 20 years
By Eli Haidari 23rd Apr 2023
Teddington Nub News aims to support our community promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.
We aim to showcase these organisations and the wonderful individuals who shape them regularly in a feature called 'Up Close'.
Today, we caught up with the Teddington RNLI lifeboat station, which has been saving lives on the River Thames for over 20 years.
Read on for the charity's story and the vital work carried out by residents, for residents, 24/7, 365 days a year.
Teddington RNLI lifeboat station
The decision to install a lifeboat service on the Thames followed the tragedy of the Marchioness disaster on 20 August 1989, when the party boat Marchioness twice collided with the dredger Bowbelle and sank, claiming the lives of 51 people.
A formal inquiry in 2000 led to the RNLI responding by forming a rescue service on the Thames and in the autumn of 2001, preparations began to open stations at Gravesend, Tower (Bridge), Chiswick and Teddington.
Fast forward to April 2023, and Teddington's RNLI lifeboat station has been saving lives on the Thames for 21 years, having just recorded its busiest year to date with 2022 seeing the station receiving 106 callouts averaging to two a week.
Teddington RNLI is unique in its set up from its fellow stations on the Thames as it is not permanently staffed, rather it is comprised of 30 or so local volunteers all of whom work or live within three minutes of the station and give up at least 40 hours a week to be on call.
From architecture, management consultancy and lawyers, to train engineers, paramedics and full-time mums, despite the team's varied backgrounds, the crew is united with its one common goal – wanting to make the River Thames a safer place.
As well as being on call 24 hours a day on a rotary basis, the team takes part in weekly training on a Tuesday evening from 7 – 9pm, and was kind enough to invite Nub News down for its latest session.
Following a debriefing from Operations Manager Matt Allchurch, the crew were split into groups where training exercises took place covering all areas from search and rescue drills, boat handling, navigation, radio communications and casualty care.
The close-knit community and its support for one another was clear to see throughout the evening.
Every drill and scenario were approached with complete dedication and sincerity, with the crew conscious of the fact the Tuesday evenings play a fundamental role in maintaining their technical competence when thrown into a real-life situation where someone's life could be at risk.
There were moments for laughter, of course, and time for a drink in the pub once training had finished. However, getting the most out of the two hours was the prime concern once training began, with the more experienced crew members on hand to provide advice on how rescue missions or launches from the station could be carried out more efficiently under incredibly tightly timed conditions.
As well as volunteers committing themselves to Tuesday sessions and availability for callouts, their time is also dedicated to volunteering in local schools and making cub and scout visits.
Jon Barker is one of the four founder helms of Teddington RNLI lifeboat station, providing 100 hours-per-week of pager coverage, and to date, has been involved in over 500 shouts during his 21 years of volunteering.
When asked on whether he thinks there is currently enough awareness raised of the dangers the River Thames possesses, he told Nub News: "Definitely not. I would like to see water safety in general become part of the school curriculum. At Teddington RNLI we want everybody to enjoy using the Thames but in a safer manner.
"Right from the early days of having a purpose-built station at Teddington, we have always encouraged visitors to our station and make them aware of the RNLI, and the dangers on the river.
"So, a big part of my volunteering now involves the organisation of cubs and scout visits, school talks to local primary and secondary schools and organising our Duke of Edinburgh programme each January. While we understand the need for a rescue service on the river, we would far rather prevent anybody getting into trouble in the first place. If you do see someone in trouble on the water dial 999 and ask for the coastguard."
From one of the crew's longest-serving members to its latest recruit, Clare Price joined the Teddington RNLI family a year ago.
Speaking to Nub News, she said: "At the time the station was looking for new crew and I was really drawn by the idea of giving back something to the local community and taking on a new challenge.
"I love learning new things, from the all-important knots to casualty care and recently how to preserve forensic evidence, but It's also great just being part of the crew - they are a fantastic, diverse bunch of people who I would probably have never met otherwise and do a lot of good while also having a lot of fun."
As a charity, Teddington RNLI relies on donations for its survival, with fundraisers hosted throughout the year including comedy nights, fish suppers, online auctions and cake sales from local schools.
The station receives overwhelming support from the local community but is always on the lookout for residents to kindly donate when they are able to.
As well as donations, the RNLI Teddington team is always on the lookout to extend its family, with a host of ways to jump aboard its ongoing mission.
Teddington RNLI veteran, Jon Barker added: "While we all have a common goal of wanting to make our river a safer place there is a very strong social side to our station and having the support of 40 local families to draw on creates a great starting point for why you should join us at Teddington. We need all sorts of skills and only a few of them involve driving a boat.
"We are one team with one goal, and everybody helps out because they want to."
For more information on Teddington RNLI, including ways you can donate or get involved with volunteering opportunities, visit the station's website HERE
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