St Mary with St Alban

On Wednesday 24th February Her Majesty the Queen visited Tower Lifeboat Station as part of a whistle-stop tour of the city of London where she met behind-the-scenes workers integral to keeping the City functioning.

Whilst at Tower Lifeboat Station she met lifeboat crew members and fundraisers from the 4 Thames lifeboat stations - Teddington, Chiswick, Tower and Gravesend – whose mission is to save lives on the tidal reaches of the River Thames.

Crew Members from each of the lifeboat stations were introduced to The Queen including 12 members from Teddington. The Queen was interested to hear that three of the five busiest lifeboat stations were Thames inland stations and she was pleased to see a number of female crew members.

Jonathan Rymel, one of the volunteer crew member from Teddington, said: ‘I was very proud to be present at the Queen’s visit and be able to show her some of the work we do. It was a great experience and one that everyone who attended was immensely proud of.’

The RNLI has operated lifeboat stations around the coast of the UK and Republic of Ireland since 1824 and lifeboat stations were established on the Thames in 2002. Collectively they provide search and rescue cover over 216 miles of the tidal Thames and reach up to Hampton Court.

Pictures above: Teddington Lifeboat Crew

Pictures supplied by JP Trenque/RNLI