The Royal National Lifeboat Institution was founded on 4 March 1824.
From the RNLI's very beginning women played vital, but often little commemorated roles; from ensuring its very survival through vital fundraising to even launching the lifeboats.
In 2024 the RNLI celebrated its 200th anniversary. To record and preserve the role that women are playing in the institution today, the National Maritime Museum recorded a short series of oral histories.
These recordings are now part of the Museum's permanent collection. Play the videos to listen to a selection of the recordings below, accompanied by the evocative photography of the artist Jack Lowe.
"It's a family thing"
Máire and Síle are mother and daughter who volunteer together. Máire recently retired from the Ballycotton crew after 20 years. She now gives her time as a Deputy Launching Authority responsible for authorising the lifeboat’s launch.
Síle joined the crew at 17 and recently qualified as a Navigator. At 14 she was rescued by her mother after getting caught out by the tide while kayaking. Her mother’s involvement, as well as time spent at the station as a child, inspired her to join the crew.
Ballycotton is a small fishing village in County Cork, on Ireland’s east coast. The lifeboat station has stood in the harbour for over 150 years, during which time its crew has been awarded 19 medals for bravery.
The celebratory bunting either side of the slipway in Jack Lowe’s photograph was for Lifeboat Day, an annual public celebration that raises money for the station.
'You should have women on there I said: they’re at home with the children and always available!'
Dwynwen was the first woman to join the crew at Moelfre Lifeboat Station (Anglesey). She signed up after a conversation with other crew members in a pub over 20 years ago.
Dwynwen is a volunteer Navigator on the all-weather lifeboat, responsible for the boat’s safe and effective operation at sea. She is hoping to remain working on the boats for a while longer, but says that even when she retires she will always be a part of the Moelfre RNLI family.
Moelfre lifeboat station is on the east coast of the island of Anglesey, Wales, close to the ferry route from Dublin to Liverpool. Many of the call-outs received at the station are from people in kayaks, or on paddleboards or inflatables that have drifted too far from shore towards the ferry route.
Dwynwen has gained the nickname ‘slasher’ due to her habit of destroying inflatables that have drifted out to sea. Inflatables should never be used in the sea due to the risk of being carried out by the tide.
'The RNLI has been a big part of my life – I hope I'm here for years to come'
Leah joined the Whitby lifeboat on her 18th birthday and was the only woman crew member at that time. She was inspired to join after witnessing a call-out to a capsized rowing boat some years before. Trained as both all-weather and inshore lifeboat crew, in September 2022 Leah became the first woman to qualify as Helm on Whitby’s inshore lifeboat.
Being a helm comes with additional responsibility; she is not just responsible for the lifeboat during a rescue but the safety of the other crew too.
Her top piece of sea-safety advice is to check the tide times and be aware of how quickly the tide can change.
Find more stories you might like
Capturing history: Jack Lowe and the RNLI
How one photographer’s quest to visit every lifeboat station shines a light on our maritime heritage
The Shipping Forecast
The Shipping Forecast was first broadcast on the BBC in 1925. Explore the history of the forecast with the National Maritime Museum, and discover objects connected with the power of our ocean
Making Waves
Stories of incredible women at sea
The Merchant Navy's role in the Falklands conflict
Seafarers, volunteers and nursing officers share their experiences during the Falklands conflict as part of a National Maritime Museum oral history project
Our Ocean, Our Planet
Our Ocean, Our Planet is a new online space at Royal Museums Greenwich dedicated to exploring the climate crisis and our relationship with the ocean
Images © Jack Lowe. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London