Last Ever Festive Shift for Chiswick Lifeboat Crew

RNLI volunteers will be working for 12-hours on Christmas Day

The RNLI Chiswick Lifeboat Christmas crew. Picture: RNLI/David Clarke

December 6, 2024

For what may be the last time ever, the crew of the RNLI lifeboat at the Chiswick station will be turning up onChristmas Day.

Unlike most other RNLI crews they do not return home on the holidays to be summoned by pager if a rescue is needed, but spend the day away from family on a 12 hour shift to ensure that there is on site cover 24/7.

Duty commander on Christmas Day this year will be Mark Turrell. He said, ‘It is hard missing the family on Christmas Day and I know my grandchildren will miss my annual performance as Father Christmas. We know we may be needed at any time to save lives and we have the training and equipment to do this. Santa may have nine reindeer pulling his sleigh whereas we have 900 horses pulling ours!’

Joining Mark on Christmas day will be commander James Williams and long-serving crew, Rosie Allen. Rosie has been on over a dozen Xmas day shifts; she joined Chiswick lifeboat in 2002, having helmed the RNLI lifeboat at Atlantic college in Wales.

The duty crew at the station try to make the most of the day. Although catering is not yet part of the RNLI training, in past years there has always been one of the crew who could prepare a festive feast while being ready to switch off the oven and launch rapidly when tasked. Donations of mince pies and sausage rolls keep the crew going while lunch is being prepared, local supporters drop in with more supplies.

Mark Turrell acts as Santa for his grandchildren. Picture: RNLI/David Clarke

Last Christmas the culinary skills of the crew were not required. The White Hart Pub in Barnes, under a mile from the station or one minute by lifeboat, provided a sumptuous take-out Christmas dinner.

The White Hart will be repeating its generosity this year. But it is currently planned that for Christmas 2025, the crew will be settling into a new station four miles downstream at Wandsworth Riverside. Improved facilities will be much more comfortable for crews during their 12 hour shifts, and a properly equipped galley will make it much easier to prepare a Christmas meal in the station.

Collecting Christmas dinner for Chiswick RNLI from the White Hart. Picture: RNLI/David Clarke

The E-Class RNLI lifeboats are unique to the Thames. Twin 450 hp engines drive the boat at 40 knots allowing crew to reach casualties well within the 15-minute target.

The RNLI lifeboats on the tidal Thames at Chiswick, Waterloo Bridge and Gravesend have a duty crew of four ready to launch rapidly when tasked. By the end of November Chiswick lifeboat crews had attended 358 incidents since the start of the year; the majority of these nearer to the new location.

Chiswick RNLI lifeboat station is the second busiest in the UK and Ireland. Since The RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames started in 2002, Chiswick Lifeboat has attended over 4,600 incidents and saved 193 lives. The RNLI is entirely funded by public donations.

This page is sponsored by West London Queer Project who support community initiatives in Chiswick.