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Members of Poole
lifeboat crew receive Long Service Medals for over 40 years’
service between them.
Senior Helmsman Paul Singleton and Coxswain Jonathan Clark
are the heart and core of Poole lifeboat crew and both have received
Long Service Medals in recognition of their dedication and commitment.
In today’s demanding lifestyles, committing over 20 years’
voluntary service each to the lifeboat station is no mean feat.
The Long Service Medal is awarded as an acknowledgement
of Paul and Jonathan’s steadfastness and valiant commitment
to Poole lifeboat over the past 20 years. Being part of the lifeboat
crew at the busiest coastal station in the UK and Republic of Ireland
means that a lot of sacrifices have been made in that time to fulfil
their volunteer pledge.
The long service medals were presented by RNLI Operations
Director Michael Vlasto OBE on August 6th at the Lifeboat College
with crew past and present looking on.
Paul Singleton, volunteer Senior Helmsman of Poole inshore
lifeboat
Paul joined the crew over 23 years ago in May 1982
when he was 21 years old. He is the longest serving member of the
crew and has continually been the busiest crew member, clocking
up the highest amount of shouts each year for an individual crew
member. Last year he clocked up 63 services.
With many shouts to choose from, Paul’s most
memorable shout was about 6/7 years ago when he helped to rescue
a 13-year-old boy who was clinging to his dinghy off Hamworthy Park.
The boy was suffering from hypothermia and was rescued just in time.
The boy’s grandmother was so grateful she gave the crew £10
from her pension.
Being part of the lifeboat crew involves many call
outs but there is also a lot of PR work that goes with the ‘job’.
Paul is often at the forefront of this work and this even involves
meeting royalty. Paul was part of a lifeboat crew that took part
in the Fleet Review at Portsmouth earlier this year where he met
the Duke of Edinburgh and he has also met Her Majesty The Queen.
Last month Paul was at St James’ Palace where he was able
to show The Queen a new Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat at a special
maritime day.
With over 20 years’ volunteer commitment this
also affects his family and work life. Paul has been married to
Janice for 19 years; he has two children - Elli, 13 years and Lewis,
10 years. Paul works as a Tug Boat Master for Poole Harbour Commissioners
and has worked on the tug for 28 years.
Paul is always seen in and around the boathouse
as his tug Herbert Ballam is moored alongside. He is a natural comedian
and is known as ‘Flipper’.
In his many years on the lifeboat Flipper’s
cheerful remarks have put quite a few seafarers at ease in difficult
situations.
Jonathan Clark, volunteer Coxswain of Poole all weather
lifeboat
Joining the crew for Jonathan Clark was very much
following in the family’s footsteps. His father John Clark
was part of the crew for 19 years from 1977 until, as Second Coxswain,
he retired in 1996. Jonathan’s godfather and cousin were also
on the crew.
Jonathan had been a regular face at the lifeboat
station, which was then based at Saltern’s Marina, while his
father was on the crew and he then joined the crew officially in
May 1984 when he was 17 years old. Jonathan became a Helmsman on
the inshore lifeboat in 1988 and crewed on both boats until he became
Coxswain in September 1998. He was one of the youngest Coxswains
in the country.
One of the proudest moments during his lifeboat
career was when he received the Freedom of the Borough of Poole
on behalf of the station from the then Mayor Bill Wretham during
the RNLI’s 175th Anniversary celebrations in June 1999.
One of the most memorable shouts for Jonathan was
an incident that took place at the Chain Ferry on 5 May 2001; Jonathan
said ‘that this shout was different as the incident unfolded
in front of our eyes’. The lifeboat crews are usually called
out when an incident has taken place but on this occasion both boats
were on the way to other shouts when they came across four X class
sailing boats pinned against the chain ferry.
Struggling against a strong ebb tide, the two lifeboats
worked together and managed to tow clear three of the boats. The
inshore lifeboat went back for the fourth boat but saw it become
swamped, and it sank under the ferry in a matter of seconds. Two
of the boat’s crew hung onto the grab lines at the side of
the ferry but the third, a 73-year-old lady disappeared under the
ferry.
Coxswain Jonathan Clark on the Inner Wheel lifeboat
saw what had happened and manoeuvred the lifeboat to the other side
of the ferry. Miraculously they spot the lady and Second Coxswain
Mark Cole jumped in to save the woman from drowning.
All this happened within just a few minutes but
it seemed a lifetime.
For this rescue the crews received RNLI Framed Letters
of Thanks, an individual Letter of Appreciation and Jonathan and
his crew received a collective Letter of Appreciation from the RNLI’s
Operations Director. The two lifeboat crews also received Local
Heroes awards from The Daily Echo.
Jonathan is from a well known local Poole family
and has lived and worked in and around the harbour all his life.
He says his skin dries out if he gets too far away from the sea!
He lived at the White Horse pub on West Quay Road after he was born,
and he still lives on West Quay Road today, strategically positioned
100m from the lifeboat station and 100m from work.
Jonathan has worked at Sunseeker International for
the last 19 years and is grateful that his employer supports his
lifeboat commitment and allows him to go whenever his pager has
gone off.
Jonathan has been married to Anne-Marie for 6 years;
they have two children, Noah, four years old, and Lily who is two
years old, Noah has already shown some interest in following in
his father’s footsteps.
If you ask Jonathan why he does it, he says: ‘I
believe I’m good at it and I enjoy being able to put something
back into the community’.
Saving lives
Both Paul and Jonathan are true boatmen and know the harbour
like the back of their hands and over the years this has helped
to save many lives. The RNLI has only kept records of services on
computer since 1994 and since then:
Jonathan Clark has carried out 374 launches, helping to
save 27 lives, and rescuing nearly 250 people.
Paul Singleton has carried out 847 launches, helping to
save 106 lives, rescuing nearly 730 people.
During these 22 years at least 1,100 people have cause
to be grateful to both of these volunteer crew members. And these
figures only account for half of the time they have been part of
the lifeboat crew. In their 44 years of combined service over 130
people have been saved and would not be here had it not been for
the efforts, commitment and dedication to saving lives at sea.
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