A bell-ringing ceremony, attended by approximately 200 RNLI staff members and volunteers, took place on Tuesday 21st January 2020 to celebrate the first RNLI lifeboat to host the names of thousands of loved ones.As per nautical tradition, the bell rang eight times to signal the ‘end of watch’ on a naval ship and the start of a new watch.
Over 9,500 people are being commemorated in a unique and special way, as their names are proudly displayed in the operational letters and numbers on the hull of the new Launch a Memory boat.
A minute’s silence was held just before midday to remember loved ones whose
names had been carefully placed on the side of the lifeboat and to also pay
respect to five crew who perished in the Fraserburgh disaster 50 years ago to
the day.
The Agnes A P Barr – the first Launch a Memory lifeboat in the RNLI’s history – will be stationed at Invergordon Lifeboat Station in northern Scotland once a series of sea trials and tests are complete on the Shannon-class boat.
For more information about Launch a Memory visit rnli.org.uk/bytheirside.