The RNLI's annual meetings - the AGM and Presentation of Awards - were held on 16 May at the Barbican, in the City of London, for the second year running. The 'new' venue provides enough space for the Institution to set up several displays to illustrate its work, and a souvenir stall which was once again thronged in the time between the meetings. Although the weather gave little hint of the busy Summer to come the whole occasion was once again rated a resounding success.

The Annual General Meeting The Annual General meeting in the morning marked Sir Michael Vernon's final appearance in the chair as, after seven years as Chairman he stood down the following month.

Having confirmed the minutes of last year's meeting Sir Michael began his report by paying tribute to the Duke of Atholl, his predecessor as Chairman, who had died in February and who had been Chairman for 10 years.

Sir Michael also took the opportunity to reflect on the changes which had taken place in the RNLI since he first became involved in 1963 - when inshore lifeboats were making their first appearance and 850 launches signified a busy year for the lifeboat crews.

Since Sir Michael had first taken the chair at an AGM, he remarked, he had been able announce a new record for lifeboat launches on every occasion - with the figure now standing at 7,312 - more than 1,000 up on the previous year. In August, for example, lifeboats answered a staggering average of 53 calls each day.

In those same seven years five new all-weather lifeboat stations had been opened and 25 more inshore lifeboats stationed around the coast.

People Behind the bald statistics were the people who made it happen. Remarkably, with such a heavy burden, it was still possible to rely on volunteers and that there was no sign of their numbers diminishing. Nevertheless the Chairman believed that the RNLI must do all it can to help with the prevention of accidents, adding that he believed the new fast lifeboats were already playing a preventative role. By reaching the scene earlier some people who would have been a 'lives saved' statistic are being helped before the situation became critical.

The Annual Report for the year also brought out some interesting trends, the Chairman noted. Among the reports of services leading to Thanks on Vellum or Medals there were, among the more traditional services to fishing vessels and pleasure craft, the rescue of 150 passengers from a high speed ferry, a family in a small dinghy and no less than five services in which the casualties had never intended to go onto or into the sea at all. Among these was the service by Brighton lifeboat, when she rescued two girls swept of the beach and under a pier.

This serves to show that anyone may need the lifeboat service, said Sir Michael, who was sure that the fundraisers would not be slow in pointing this out to the general public.

Just as the crews adapt to the changing and growing demands of the jobs, so too do the boats and equipment. Since 1989 the new Mersey had replaced the last of the 9-knot lifeboats, a slightly larger and faster Atlantic had been introduced and the most recent fulfilment of the quest for 25-knot all-weather lifeboats has seen the creation of the Trent and Severn classes.

It was, said Sir Michael, important to realise why it was necessary to introduce this latest technology. Apart from the obvious advantages of the increased speed the Severn, for example, had survivor accommodation suited to mass evacuation of a passenger ship, and the power in both new classes gave them better manoeuvrability and towing capability.

The Chairman outlined the problems which had delayed the introduction of the Severn class into service - putting them into perspective and assuring those present that the wait until this Autumn will have been well worthwhile.

Work has already started, Sir Michael went on, on a faster slipway lifeboat, which was due to replace the Tynes early in the next century, while research into such things as night vision equipment and electronic chart systems continued to add to a lifeboat's capabilities.

Moving on the financing of such a huge operation the Chairman remarked that during 1995 £18.5m had been spent on new lifeboats and equipment and a further £6.6m on lifeboat stations - which was a large step in bringing shore facilities up to date with the requirements of modern crews and lifeboats.

Some of these stations had been built when all that was required was a shed for a boat which might be used two or three times a year - whereas last year the busiest RNLI station was called out more than 230 times. Sir Michael also touched on the painstaking procedures adopted when providing a community with a new lifeboat station, and the fact that although it was impossible to please every one some of the more conspicuous lifeboat houses had won architectural awards.

Financial base That this progress was possible was a result of a sound financial base, and while debate on what constituted adequate reserves would continue Sir Michael emphasised that the RNLI differs from the majority of charities in that it has a very high proportion of capital expenditure - and adequate reserves were the only guarantee that the lifeboat service could be maintained.

For the second year running legacy income had declined and was 9% down on 1994. However although total income was only marginally down at £64.4m another decline in legacies was forecast for 1996 and there will a budget deficit of some £2m which will need to be made up from the reserves.

However, the RNLI could take heart, emphasised the chairman, that it was at least still able to pursue its strategic aims, even in the lean years, when some other major charities have been forced to cut back on their activities.

Fundraising momentum had to be maintained, stressed Sir Michael, and steps taken to reverse the decline in legacy income.

One of those steps could be seen after the meeting, a video which illustrated just how much legacies meant to the RNLI.

The branches and guilds in particular were feeling the effect of an increasingly competitive market, but were combating it admirably. Major appeals too had been very successful with three reaching their target of funding a Severn and a fourth well on its way to raising the money for a Trent.

Good progress was being made in improving the profitability of the RNLI's sales company and Sir Michael applauded the efforts of the volunteers who had helped make the new systems work.

The Chairman commented generally on the Institution's loyal base of fundraisers and remarked that few organisationscould match the Institution's 93% rate of renewal for members.

Surveys had shown that these members would rather that the subscription rate rose gently to stay in line with the Institution's needs and Sir Michael referred to a later item on the agenda which addressed this.

Concluding his report the Chairman said that he hoped that the younger generation would feel that sound foundations had been laid for the future, and the important task for them was to ensure that there would be suitable lifeboats and resources into the next century and beyond.

Having adopted the report and accounts for 1995 the meeting then elected the Committee of Management as presented and re-appointed the auditors.

The new membership subscription rates were then reported to the meeting before the Chairman opened the gathering to questions from the floor. The rise in membership rates not unnaturally came in for some comment and, as usual, other questions ranged across the spectrum of the Institution's work and fundraising. All were answered by the Chairman or specialists from the Committee of Management or staff and the meeting was formally closed with an invitation to view the new legacy video.

The Presentation of Awards At 2.30 that afternoon a large audience gathered for the Annual Presentation of Awards, both for bravery and for long and dedicated service to the RNLI in many fields.

The Chairman, Sir Michael Vernon, again opened the proceedings and gave the assembled supporters and crews a review of the past year's activities in the RNLI. Keeping broadly to the lines of his more detailed address to the morning meeting he compared this year with the previous seven years in which he had been addressing the meeting, remarking particularly on the growth in the number of lifeboat launches.

Concluding his address with his appreciation and enjoyment of his years as Chairman Sir Michael introduced HRH The Duke of Kent, the RNLI's President to present the awards.

His Royal Highness began by complimenting Sir Michael on his leadership of the RNLI though such a successful period of its history, and added that one of the pleasures he must have shared during his years of office shared was in meeting so many people who are involved, in one way or another, with saving life at sea.

The Duke while appreciative of the modern lifeboats and their equipment took as the theme of his address the people of the Institution. Those who he had met at the Inshore Lifeboat Centre where the standard of workmanship and pride in their job was so striking, and those at lifeboat stations - referring in particular to those he had seen on a recent visit to Northern Ireland - where he found not only a warm welcome but spotlessly maintained boats and equipment. The standard of maintenance marked not just good seamanship, but also showed how much the crews valued the boats and the fundraising efforts which had been made by others to pay for them.

There is a particular group of people who will always come up with the most heartfelt appreciation of the courage and human qualities of RNLI crews, said the Duke, and that is those who have been rescued. To illustrate this he read a small number of recent comments, among them a yachtsman, a fisherman - and a young girl thanking the crew of the Lowestoft lifeboat for saving her grandfather.

'If he had died,' she said, 'a big part of me would have died as well.' Having moved the traditional motion appreciating the efforts of crews and fundraisers His Royal Highness presented the awards to voluntary workers and crews.

A full list of the awards presented to voluntary workers appears on page 203 of this issueThe bravery awards Unusually all four of the medals awarded at the 1996 Presentation of Awards were for services by inshore lifeboats, and three of them were to the crew of a single Atlantic.

Full accounts of the services are given in the relevant issues of THE LIFEBOAT.

Helmsman Crispin Williamson - Bronze Medal Little and Broad Haven - 23 September 1995 Little and Broad Haven's D class lifeboat rescued a family of six stranded at the base of 200ft high cliffs in winds of up to Force 7 and in seas which were confused by the back-wash from the shore.

The family's small dinghy had been swamped as they tried to relaunch it from a beach in worsening weather and they had been trapped by the rising tide. The lifeboat anchored and veered down, collecting the mother and children one at a time, the children being thrown into the lifeboat from a rocky outcrop by a crew member. The lifeboat had shipped a great deal of water so it landed the family before returning for the father who had been trapped a little distance away while trying to get help. The lifeboat re-launched, returned to the scene and veered down once more to rescue the man.

Full account inthe Winter 95/96 issue of THE LIFEBOATHelmsman Richard Pearce - Silver Medal Crew member Martin Ebdell - Bronze Medal Crew Member Joseph Purches - Bronze Medal Brighton - 7 September 1996 Brighton's Atlantic 21 rigid inflatable was launched just before midnight when two girls were swept into the water by heavy seas and were seen clinging to the pier supports. In absolute darkness and large breaking surf the Atlantic was taken right under the pier where, with her bow section punctured by a metal spike, she worked her way to the two casualties. Crew member Ebdell's legs were trapped under a support as the lifeboat was lifted by a sea but the two girls were saved and the lifeboat regained open water. She was too badly damaged to continue unassisted and Newhaven's Arun class lifeboat eventually towed her back to her station.

Full account in the Spring 1996 issue of THE LIFEBOAT.