At the kind invitation of Leslie Helliwell, chief librarian of Southendon- Sea, the local RNLI branch arranged a most successful '150 years of lifeboat history' exhibition in the borough's magnificent new central library. It was opened on November 9, 1974, by Councillor E. J. Lockhart, Mayor of Southend, and ran until the end of the month.

On exhibition in the forecourt was an Atlantic 21, manned and cared for by local crew members, while in the library building itself an area of over 1,000 sq ft was made available for the display of photographs, equipment, models and oil paintings; there was particular emphasis on Southend's own lifeboats, old and new.

Film show and talks in the lecture theatre were well attended by office workers in their lunch hours and also by school parties; nearly 1,000 children visited the exhibition all together. A souvenir stall, manned throughout by members of the local branch, raised £645, and during the show Canvey Island Carnival Queen came to present a cheque to the RNLI from the proceeds of the carnival.

The exhibition was organised by Alan Butler, honorary public relations officer, with the help of Jack Chambers from Boreham Wood Depot..