St Bees lifeboat crew and volunteers celebrated “One Moment, One Crew” at a service in St Bees Priory this week.

The RNLI charity, founded in 1824, encouraged its volunteers nationwide to take a photo of themselves as close to 18:24 on Thursday August 1 (1/8/24) as possible to mark 200 years of saving lives at sea.

To celebrate the RNLI 200 anniversary the volunteers at St Bees came together for a short service in St Bees Priory.

They remembered RNLI volunteers past and present. There was a poignant sermon from the Rural Dean who commended the crew on their bravery and commitment and also paid tribute to his Uncle Frederick who drowned while on service with the RNLI in the 1962 Seaham disaster.

At 18.24 a minutes silence was held, followed by the ringing of the church bells.

After the service the crew gathered at The Manor St.Bees to test their knowledge in a St.Bees and RNLI themed pub quiz!