Whitby lifeboat memorial in honour of those who lost their lives

This new memorial is to honour keep in living memory the sacrifice of Whitby's lifeboat crews over the years.

There will be twenty four crew members of the town’s RNLI station are among those whose names will be engraved on the institution’s first national memorial.

The memorial is set to be unveiled later this year in the autumn at the RNLI’s headquarters in Poole. It will specifically pay tribute to those who gave their lives while helping to save many others.

It will particularly focus on the names on the RNLI volunteers from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland but other maritime lifesavers, including those from HM Coastguard, will also be remembered.

Whitbys lifeboatmen remembered on the memorial that will include 12 who died during the 1861 lifeboat disaster in which renowned local lifeboatman Henry Freeman was the only crew member to survive.

Tto highlight how important the servicesWhitby’s west side lifeboat had already launched four times on 9 February to vessels in distress in dreadful weather conditions and on their fifth call, to the schooner Merchant, the lifeboat capsized.