London: Modern lifeboats formed the theme of the RNLI displays at the London International Boat Show at Earls Court from January 6 to 16. Although in a quiet area, our stand was, as always, the meeting place for many lifeboat friends old and new. The volunteer Shoreline team enrolled 737 new members, as well as selling insignia, and the members of fund-raising branches and guilds who took it in turn to man the stall brought in £5.788 in sale of souvenirs and £1,166 from RNLI lottery tickets; altogether £8,021 was taken on the stand with a further £2,200 from donations and collecting boxes looked after by other exhibitors.

During the ten days, presentations of the Institution's Public Relations awards were made (see above right) and, in its turn, the RNLI was presented with cheques for £300 from Racal Decca, and of £1.000 from Helmsman Yacht Varnish. In 1982 Leicester Building Society had made a donation to lifeboat funds for all amounts invested in new accounts opened by lifeboat supporters and as a result a cheque for £8,000 was presented to the Institution at Earls Court (see far right).

Birmingham: A modern lifeboat was the RNLI's principal exhibit at Birmingham Boat and Caravan Show at the National Exhibition Centre between February 19 and 27. Large crowds queued to see the 33ft Brede class lifeboat on show, which will be named Merchant Navy. The first to board her was Captain Christopher Burne, RN, who commanded Canberra during the Falklands campaign and who opened the show, and the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Peter Hollingworth: Councillor Hollingworth, with BBC Pebble Mill, is currently making an appeal to fund a Brede lifeboat. A former merchant Navy officer, Roger Cope, a Birmingham branch member, gave up a week of his holiday to take charge of RNLB Merchant Navy and it is estimated that 10,000 people had boarded the new Brede lifeboat by the time the show ended. The stand itself was manned in turn by members from Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Coventry, Rugby and Kenilworth branches and guilds with Dudley branch chairman, Carl Falk, taking charge of the Shoreline desk for most of the show; in all £8,500 was raised.

To celebrate their 100 years in the match industry, J. John Masters, distributors of Ship and Winners matches, launched a promotion in 1982, Maritime England Year, to raise funds for four marine charities. From this promotion the lifeboat service is to receive cheques totalling more than £53,000.

The first cheque, for £7,558.50, was presented to the RNLI at Weymouth on February 10; the second cheque, for £7,488. was presented at the Birmingham Boat Show; a third cheque, for £5,861.50, was presented at Poole on February 25; and a fourth cheque, for £5,575, was presented at Wimbledon on March 16..