The Royal National Lifeboat Institution will reward 4,500 volunteers and frontline staff with a special Platinum Jubilee medal in recognition of the 69,212 lives that have been saved throughout The Queen’s reign.
“I am delighted to see so many RNLI volunteers and staff being recognised by this prestigious award alongside other frontline members of the emergency services, prison services and the Armed Forces,” said its Chief Executive, Mark Dowie, in a statement.
The Platinum Jubilee Medal will be awarded to the frontline workers and volunteers, as noted by Dowie, to those with five consecutive years of service under their belt.
“The Platinum Jubilee medal follows a long history of awarding medals to mark Royal Jubilee celebrations, and this is the fourth medal under Her Majesty The Queen’s reign,” said Dowie.
“It is a testament to the selflessness and dependability of our people that many have served the RNLI long enough to have been awarded all four Jubilee medals. My congratulations and thanks go to all the recipients and our thousands of other volunteers and staff who work tirelessly to deliver our essential lifesaving services in our mission to save everyone.”
The Institution notes that The Queen conducted her first engagement with them on 27 June 1949, visiting the station in St Helier in Jersey. Her most recent visit was in 2013, with a visit to the St Ives Lifeboat Station. During her Silver Jubilee in 1977 and her Golden Jubilee in 2002, The Queen attended naming ceremonies for lifeboats.
The Queen has been patron of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution since 1952, following in her father’s footsteps, as King George VI had been the Institution’s first patron.
The Platinum Jubilee Medal is the fourth medal presented during The Queen’s reign. She previously awarded medals during her Silver Jubilee, her Golden Jubilee, and her Diamond Jubilee to those in the Armed Forces, emergency services, prison services, and living recipients of the George Cross and the Victoria Cross, as well as members of the Royal Household with one year of service.
