IN 1957 Miss Christine Ford, who was then aged 15, became the youngest honorary secretary of a financial branch. The branch was Portslade in Sussex. Her parents are both enthusiastic supporters of the life-boat service and for many months gave up all their weekends to man the life-boat display centre in Brighton.

While the Ford family were doing so much for the service a young man named Anthony Oliver developed a great interest in life-boats. Having made a detailed study of the subject while still a schoolboy he became at the age of 20 honorary secretary of the Hurstpierpoint branch in 1962.

At a life-boat function Christine and Anthony met, and on I4th March, 1964, they were married at the charming fourteenth century church of St. Nicolas, Portslade. The wedding cake had a life-boat motif, and a guard of honour was provided by members of life-boat crews not only from Shoreham and from Newhaven, but from as far afield as Barmouth in Merionethshire..