A legacy is a simple matter to set up, but sometimes whatthe RNLI receives is far from simple.

Ray Kipling, the Institution's Deputy Director, explains 'We're very proud of our new lifeboat. We'll take good care of her.' The words of a crew member from Dunmore East would surely have thrilled the lady whose bequest provided the boat, Mrs Elizabeth Manners-Clark. The crew are so pleased with their new Trent and so grateful to the family who made it possible that lifeboatman John Golfer painted a wonderful watercolour of the Elizabeth and Ronald lor presentation to Mrs Manners-Clark's sister.

Legacies are the biggest single source of income for the RNLI bringing in almost £40m last year alone. The largest ever received was a bequest of £6.5m from Roy Barker of Jersey which was to be used to set up a fund whose income would buy new lifeboats. Most are, of course, much more modest and it is the smaller legacies of a few hundred or a few thousand pounds which make up the bulk of the 2,500 received each year.

Although leaving money to charity in a will is very straightforward, some of the RNLI's bequests have been far from simple. There have been gifts of a pig farm, a night club, a caravan park and a house in Tenerife which was quickly occupied by Dutch squatters. It took some years to have them evicted. A box of jewellery in France mysteriously disappeared but a small holding of very old South African stock was vigorously pursued by the executor of a multi-million pound estate-and yielded £13! A link with the RNLI's founder, Sir William Hillary, brought another interesting gift. Dr Cecil Preston-Hillary was a direct descendant of Sir William and he and his wife were active RNLI fundraisers in Nottingham. They later moved to Hastings and continued their involvement through the branch there. When Dr Preston-Hillary died, the RNLI received a medal awarded to Sir William's son and when Mrs Preston-Hillary died, as well as a very substantial bequest, there was a portrait of Sir William which now hangs in the Poole headquarters. There was a specific provision in the will that the RNLI should only benefit if it was still an independent organisation.

A whole collection of paintings with some fine antique furniture were left by Plymouth artist Sybil Glover. Doris Mann, another active RNLI fundraiser, gave the RNLI two houses in her lifetime and bequeathed 17 more in two Bedfordshire villages.

So what makes people include the RNLI in their wills? Obviously many have been supporters during their lifetimes and wish that support to continue. Other people may not have been actively involved with the RNLI but bequests from Mary Doig, daughter of trawler skipper John Doig; yachtswoman Susan Hiscock; Lieutenant Commander Hugh Macquarie Stone, whose father was a North Sea ferry captain, have clear links with the sea. There is a story, said to be true, that £10,000 was received in a will because of somebody seeing a flag day collector standing all day in the rain and admiring their dedication to the lifeboat cause. A story that certainly is true is that of Frank Clifford of Stourbridge.

Modest Frank Clifford was a close personal friend of a member of the RNLI's Stourbridge Branch who had organised a talk by Harry Jones, former coxswain of the Hoylake lifeboat. A long serving and distinguished lifeboatman, with a bronze bravery medal, Harry is nonetheless a modest man and told the stories of his rescues in straightforward language. Frank Clifford was so impressed that he decided to change his will. When he died he left the RNLI £300,000 to help provide the New Quay lifeboat, Frank and Lena Clifford of Stourbridge. Harry and Margaret Jones were among the crowd at the naming ceremony and had to be prised out, somewhat reluctantly, to meet the various VIPs present.

Another man who held lifeboat crews in high regard was Frank Atkinson who built up a successful business in Nottingham and retired to the South coast. He was a no-nonsense man who bought the Atlantic 21 for Lymington and used to take the crew out for dinner each year, telling them they could bring their wives or girlfriends - but not both! The proudest possession of this wealthy and generous man was the Lymington lifeboat sweater presented to him by the crew.

When he died the RNLI was in his will.

Perhaps the most private of all RNLI benefactors was Sir David Robinson. He started his business life with a bicycle shop and went on to found Radio Rentals. Sadly, in later life, his wife became seriously ill and Sir David devoted his time to her. He used his considerable fortune to found a Cambridge College, provide a new hospital wing and, when he heard of the Penlee lifeboat disaster in 1981, he gave the money for the replacement lifeboat. The new Arun was named Mabel Alice in honour of his wife.

Privacy Sir David gave another lifeboat in his lifetime and left enough in his will for two more.

One was named in his memory and is stationed at The Lizard, the station next to Penlee. His daughter performed the naming ceremony and was moved to feel that it had brought her close to her father who she had not seen for some years.

Sir David also asked for some help from the RNLI in preserving his privacy after death.

Because of his wealth and his reclusiveness, the media wanted to tell the story of the end of this enigmatic figure. Sir David had already spoken with RNLI Director Brian Miles about his plans to be buried at sea and while the press chased down to Cornwall, expecting him to be buried from the Penlee lifeboat, Sir David was being taken out on the Gorleston lifeboat for a committal carried out by lifeboat inspector Dick Perks.

For some curious reason, parrots seem to figure in a number of lifeboat legacy tales. As well as dealing with Sir David Robinson's requests, Brian Miles used to visit an elderly lady donor in Kent. When the lady left the room to make tea, he was still being talked to by a parrot, who went on to outlive his owner.

Another parrot had the same good fortune and his owner, Victoria Brown, not only left enough money to buy a new lifeboat for Harwich but also set a sum aside to care for her parrot. The executor of the will brought photographs to the lifeboat naming ceremony to show that the parrot was being properly looked after.

The stories surrounding legacies go back to the very start of the RNLI. Within a year of being founded, the RNLI had received a legacy of £1,000 from John Henry Hecker of Finsbury Square, London. There followed a lean period and by 1852, a turning point in the RNLI's history when it was rejuvenated by the Duke of Northumberland, only seven legacies had been received. The next 50 years started the growth which continued for decades, the figures for 1900 being 62 legacies in that year, worth £31,500.

The appeal of the RNLI then was much as it is now, if Pig Farms, Cottages...

and Parrots continued expressed in rather more flowery terms: The Institution needs an annual income of at least £80,000 to maintain its great life-saving fleet; and the Committee feel assured that it will never lack it so long as it maintains its boats in the state of thorough efficiency that they are in at the present time, and manned as they are on every emergency by as fearless and noble a class of men as ever Nelson or Collingwood led to battle to uphold our country's honour and glory.'.

The importance of the legacy income at the turn of the century is evident; it represented over a third of the RNLI's needs. Today, legacies provide over half the RNLI's income but a worrying trend started to develop a few years ago. While the number of legacies received has stayed fairly steady, the total value dropped by 10% from 1992 to 1996. There could be many reasons for this. There are a lot more charities asking for legacies than previously.

Property prices, which affect the value of people's estates, have been unsteady. There is less state provision for people in old age and more need to pay for care. Some people were badly hit by the Lloyds names problems; others have found that the increasing threshold for inheritance tax has worked to their and their family's benefit. It has never been easy to predict legacy income. Nowadays, it is more difficult than ever.

Yet here we have the biggest single source of funds for one of the nation's favourite charities and an essential emergency service. It is obvious that the RNLI could not ignore the worrying signs over the future of legacy income, even though it has started to pick up again.

That is why a new legacy campaign was launched in November 1995. The first rather alarming point it addressed was that a significant number of people have no will and when they die their property is disposed of under rules (intestacy) which follow a formula, not necessarily reflecting the wishes of the deceased.

Even in seemingly simple cases, for example where a husband or wife assumes that all will pass to the surviving partner, complications can arise. The only sensible answer is to make a will, and to do it early in life. Solicitors are the best source of advice and a simple will costs very little. It can easily be updated to reflect changed circumstances but if it is not there then the only legacy to be left is confusion.

The second point of the campaign was to show how valuable bequests are to the RNLI.

Modern lifeboats and equipment cost a lot of money and the crews need these tools if they are to face challenging rescues successfully. It is very helpful to the RNLI to have an indication of how many legacies may be in the pipeline, even if they will not be received for many years. Supporters who are happy to complete pledge forms provide useful information to help the RNLI plan ahead.

The pledge does not involve any commitment at all, as wills can be changed at any time and the information is, of course, confidential.

The two main types of bequest are described as pecuniary and residuary. Pecuniary bequests are cash amounts written into a will, 'I give £500...' or 'I give £3,000...' to a person or organisation. These bequests are simple and most welcome, but they do have the disadvantage that the bequest will stay fixed unless changed by a codicil (an addition to a will to alter it) and will therefore lose value as they cannot keep up with inflation.

A residuary bequest, on the other hand, is a portion of the total value of an estate. Many people want to leave the bulk of their estate to their family and choose to add their favourite charities. An effective way to do this is to slice up the estate into portions; the actual amounts received will depend on the value of any property, investments, savings, pensions and so on at the time of death. As many of these increase in value over time, under a residuary bequest all the beneficiaries will share in that gain.

Here is a startling statistic. The RNLI receives roughly the same number of each type of bequest, but residuary bequests provide 90% of the legacy income. People who wrote a generous pecuniary bequest into their will some years ago may not have realised how its real value has diminished; if only a portion of these were switched to residuary bequests then all beneficiaries would benefit from the increase in the value of the estate.

The RNLI is lucky sometimes to receive the whole of the residue of an estate but more often the residue is shared, not necessarily in equal parts, between family, friends and a number of charities. Another method is to make some specific pecuniary gifts leaving the residue to be divided up. Whichever route is chosen, it is important to think ahead a few years and consider the effect of the will. To preserve values, the residuary approach is usually best.

Naturally, the RNLI welcomes all legacies, whatever sort and large or small - some end up under £10. They all count towards the important total, whether they provide a whole lifeboat or a pair of yellow wellies. Without them, the lifeboat crews could not do their job. And that is why they are so grateful to everybody who remembers the RNLI in their will.

MAKING A WILL If you do not have a will, we strongly recom mend you make one, whether or not you wish to include charities. The RNLI has produced a helpful guide 'Preserving All You Value' which is available free from John Marshall, Legacy Enquiries Officer on (01202)663032 • Once you have read it, we strongly recommend the use of a solicitor to help you write the will in a way that properly reflects all your wishes.

Home-made wills, or those drawn up by people with no legal training can cause problems.

• Finally, do review your will every few years or when there is a significant change in your life or circumstances. Codicils, using a solicitor, should be a cheap and easy way of keeping your will up to date.Preserving all you value With six out of every ten lifeboat launches made possible by legacies, the generous people who remember the work of the RNLI in their Will provide a vital lifeline for the next century.

The people shown here have been kind enough to include a legacy gift to the RNLI in their Will.

Mr and Mrs Bacon were among the first Shoreline members, Mr Kennedy has supported the RNLI since he first all of them, it was natural to include a legacy gift to the RNLI in their Will. Please consider joining them today.

Your legacy, however large or small, will enable the RNLI to plan ahead and help sailed in 1927. and Miss Rampton is one of our Life Governors. They are 'ordinary people' just like you.

Their admiration of the volunteer lifeboat crews meant that, for future lifeboatmen and women to continue to save lives at sea.

We have produced a special booklet and video tape, presented by Michael Buerk. It tells you more about "I have immense admiration for the crews... they deserve the very best equipment to help them carry out the task for which they so selflessly volunteer" Miss Rampton, Surrey " have been involved in yachting since I was five, so I have been well aware of the lifeboat service - and reassured by the knowledge that it was there - for a very long time" Mr Kennedy, Glasgow "We admire the dedication of the lifeboat crews and their bravery. Since we have always sailed as a hobby and are Shoreline members we naturally included the RNLI when making our Will" Mr & Mrs Bacon, Dorset how you can help secure the future of the lifeboat service and the I would like to know more: Please send me a copy of Preserving All you Value, the RNLI's guide to Wills and legacies.

H Please send me a copy of your legacy video. RNLI News.

essential work of our volunteer lifeboat crews.

For your free copy, simply fill in the coupon or telephone John Marshall, our Legacy Enquiries Officer, on 01202 663032, quoting reference LJ7/7.

Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Olhcr Address Postcode RNLI membership number ui .ipplu-jhk-i Brunch or Guild YOU belong ID ni'iipplii-ahlci Please return this form to: John Marshall. Legacy Enquiries Officer.

RNLI. FREEPOST. West Quay Road.

Poole. Dorset BH 15 1XF.

Thank you.

LJ7/7 Lifeboats Royal National Lifeboat Institution Registered Charily No. 2(NM 3.