£1.6 Million Donation to the RNLI

reported in “the lifeboat” magazine

The Autumn 2008 issue of “the lifeboat”, the magazine of the RNLI, contains an article titled “The Life-Saving Craft” which talks about the longstanding close charitable links between Freemasonry and the RNLI. The following is an extract from the article, which will be of particular interest to Mark Masons.

“The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons has a charitable arm, the Mark Benevolent Fund. Thanks to a £1.6M.donation from this fund, the Pembrokeshire-based Angle lifeboat crew will soon have an all-weather lifeboat. (…to be named the Mark Mason…).This huge donation completed the task to foot the £2.6M price tag that was begun so effectively by grass-roots RNLI supporters in Birmingham and Wales.

Grand Secretary, John Brackley, says that the Mark Master Masons are delighted to have helped provide such an advanced life-saving vessel: “We’re an island nation; we know what a fine job the lifeboat volunteers do, and that the RNLI does not receive Government funding. So when we heard that the charity was raising money for a Tamar class lifeboat, we thought it would be an excellent cause to choose.”

The impressive figure was raised through collections and fund raising events at meetings across England and Wales………..HRH Prince Michael of Kent is the Grand Master of the Mark Master Masons and due to visit RNLI headquarters as this issue of “the lifeboat” goes to print”

V.W.Bro. Kevan Beardmore PGJO

This archive article courtesy of Chris Furmston