TEDDINGTON RNLI OPEN DAY
Teddington RNLI Lifeboat Station will celebrate the charity’s 200th birthday with a station Open Day on Saturday May 25 with a rare opportunity to see a historical lifeboat.
The former Whitby Lifeboat, William Riley, was built in 1909 and in service to the RNLI until 1931. It is rarely seen outside its home in Whitby, where it is owned by the Whitby Historic Lifeboat Trust.
On May 25 at around 3pm the final team of the total of 25 rowers will complete a two-day row from Gravesend along the Thames to Teddington Lifeboat station.
The teams are made up of members of the trust and the four Thames Lifeboat Stations, Gravesend, Tower, Chiswick and Teddington, accompanied by a cox and a bow person.
For the final stretch of this impressive ‘row’, the boat will be accompanied by a picket boat for safety and smaller craft from local rowing and skiff clubs.
The lifeboat station will open its doors from 3pm on Saturday May 25th when visitors will be able to take a close look at Teddington’s inflatable lifeboats, meet volunteer crew members and visit the boat hall.
There will be a variety of stalls along the waterfront including the RNLI and participating boat clubs.
Come along for a chance to meet Stormy Stan, pick a duck for June’s duck race and help celebrate 200 years of the RNLI. Teddington RNLI Lifeboat Station can be found at Fairmile House, Twickenham Road, Teddington, TW11 8BA, opposite The Wharf Restaurant.
Matt Allchurch, Lifeboat Operations Manager at the lifeboat station said, ‘It is always great for us to meet local friends on our Open Day. This year is very special as we celebrate 200 years and the great effort by the teams who will have rowed the William Riley 50 miles.’
