The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a private charity, not funded by government, that exists to save lives at sea in UK and Irish waters. It is manned by volunteers, people prepared to set out in heavy seas to rescue people at risk in maritime incidents such as sinkings, collisions, or incapacitated vessels.

On December 19th, 1981, one of their lifeboats, the Solomon Browne, a wooden 47-foot boat manned by a crew of 8 was contacted by the coastguard to go to the aid of the Union Star, adrift after its engines had failed in heavy seas. A rescue helicopter sent to assist could not winch people off because the winds were too severe.

The volunteer crew tuned up, ready to go, but when 17-year-old Neil Brockman turned up dressed and ready to sail with his father, Nigel Brockman, the lifeboat’s coxswain, Trevelyan Richards, refused to take him, not prepared to take two members of the same family out on such stormy seas.

The lifeboat made several attempts to get alongside the stricken ship, and radioed that they had successfully taken 4 people off. Nothing was heard after that from either vessel. Both ships were lost with all hands, 8 from the Union Star, and all 8 of the volunteer crew of the lifeboat. Some bodies were later recovered.

The RNLI has seen several such disasters in its honourable history. Always it recovers and renews itself. Within a day of the Penlee disaster enough people from Mousehole, the village where it was based, had volunteered to form a new lifeboat crew. The pilot of the helicopter that unsuccessfully attempted rescue reported that this was:

The greatest act of courage that I have ever seen, and am ever likely to see, was the penultimate courage and dedication shown by the Penlee [crew] when it manoeuvred back alongside the casualty in over 60 ft breakers and rescued four people shortly after the Penlee had been bashed on top of the casualty's hatch covers. They were truly the bravest eight men I've ever seen, who were also totally dedicated to upholding the highest standards of the RNLI.

The Christmas lights in the village are turned off briefly every year for an hour at 8 pm on December 19th in an act of remembrance. All of the crew were posthumously awarded the RNLI’s medals, with the coxswain, Trevelyan Richards, receiving its highest honour, the gold medal.

The RNLI is financed by private donations, not by government. At one stage it briefly accepted state money, but found that it was losing more private donations than it was receiving in public funds, so it reverted to being privately funded. Its volunteers have saved many thousands of lives, but they need and deserve support. Anyone wishing to help can do so here.