Bridlington RNLI volunteers to attend special 200th anniversary service at York Minster

On Saturday, April 20, Bridlington RNLI volunteers will join many other RNLI volunteers at York Minster to mark the official 200th anniversary of the RNLI.

This is the charity’s opportunity to celebrate the wonderful communities who have served this great institution over 200 years. The service will be presided over by the Very Reverend Dominic Barrington, Dean of York.

The invited volunteers from Bridlington RNLI will include the Lifeboat Operations Manager, Chair of the Management Group, Water Safety Officer, shop volunteers and fundraising volunteers. One of the volunteers who will be in attendance will be volunteer crew member Bob Taylor, who is the Water Safety Officer at Bridlington RNLI. Mr Taylor has been chosen as a standard bearer, also known as the colour bearer, at the service which takes place between 2-3pm. He will not only be representing Bridlington RNLI but also the North East Region of the RNLI.

Mr Taylor, who originally came to Bridlington from his native Sheffield, has always dreamed of volunteering for the RNLI.

After holidaying as child in the area and watching the lifeboat launch, plus many years being a member of the Sea Cadets in South Yorkshire, Mr Taylor knew that given the chance he would also become a volunteer. After moving to Bridlington eight years ago fulfilled his ambition and is now a very much integral part of the volunteer crew.

Mr Taylor said: “It is a real honour to be chosen to represent not only the Bridlington Lifeboats station, but the whole of the North Eastern region of the RNLI, I was really shocked to be asked, but extremely honoured.

"There will be 4 of us making up the colour party, each of us will represent lifeguards, crew, water safety and fundraising, all key to saving lives at sea”.

Visit https://rnli.org/about-us/our-history/2024/programmes/thanksgiving-services to watch the service live on April 20.