Awards for saving drowning man...

Brain Barkess, crew member at Sunderland lifeboat station, has been awarded a Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate in recognition of his actions during the rescue of three people at the Sunderland International Airshowon 29 July.

The lifeboat was on exercise when it received a report of a dinghy being blown out to sea. The lifeboat arrived on scene to find the dinghy empty and two people standing on a nearby rock with a third person lying submerged on the seabed, apparently unconscious. The police launch Sabre had also arrived on scene and one of its crew members brought the person to the surface and handed him over to the X boat. Brian administered first aid treatment that kept the casualty alive until a helicopter arrived to take him to hospital. The casualty spent a considerable time in hospital but fortunately made a full recovery.

... and reviving unconscious swimmer Filey third mechanic Richard Johnson has received a Royal Humane Society Resuscitation certificate for helping to save a man on 22 May. The man had got into difficulties near the lifeboat station and was pulled from the water by his friends David Carr and Michael Cook. Richard and local cafe owner Christopher Dudding saw that the casualty was not breathing and administered CPR using RNLI equipment until the ambulance arrived. The casualty has since made a full recovery.

Catching them young Cullercoats lifeboat station's newest recruit was so keen to join the crew that he applied on his 17th birthday - the minimum age for RNLI crew. Scott Jones has several seasons' experience as a life guard and had been lending a hand around the station for some time. Robert Oliver, senior helmsman, welcomed Scott's arrival. 'The heart of a lifeboat is its crew,' he said. 'We train and work towards the development of skills which will save lives at sea but a major part of the make-up of a lifeboatman is his commitment to the lifeboat.

Scott has already shown that he has that.' In common with all new recruits, Scott will now undergo a 12- month probation period before he can properly call himself a lifeboatman.

Lifeboatman honoured in holiday tragedy Skegness crew member Andrew Parker has been awarded a Royal Humane Society Vellum for the rescue of two boys at Ingoldmells Point, near Skegness, on 31 July.

Andrew was on a bike ride with his father when he spotted three people in the water. Two boys, aged 10 and 13, had got into trouble and David Walsh, a holidaymaker from Alveston, near Derby, had entered the water to try to help them but got into difficulties himself. At least 100 other holidaymakers were watching from the beach but no one had gone in after Mr Walsh.

Andrew waded into the water and managed to help the older of the two boys to the shore. He then went back into the water to the younger boy, who was in shock, screaming and in severe danger.

Andrew caught hold of him and kept his head above the water. At this point Andrew realised that Mr Walsh, who was about 15m further out, had stopped struggling and sunk under the water. He immediately swum out towards him, towing the younger boy with him.

Only Mr Walsh's hair was now visible but Andrew managed to grab hold of him and pull him back to the surface. Andrew now made for the beach, struggling under the weight of two casualties. As soon as he reached the beach, he started to try to resuscitate Mr Walsh until an ambulance arrived.

Tragically Mr Walsh never regained consciousness and died shortly afterwards. For his bravery in trying to help the two boys, the Royal Humane Society awarded Mr Walsh a posthumous In Memoriam certificate.

The two boys were taken to Skegness hospital but were not kept in and made a full recovery.

Keeping it in the family The RNLI has a long history of family involvement. It is not unusual for several generations of one family to volunteer and many stations see a handful of names turn up time and again in the station history. Happily this tradition does not seem to be dying out, despite the changing family structure and the decline in the traditional fishing industry, which supplied so many crew in the past. Just one example of this ongoing tradition is at Llandudno, where 18- year-old Robert Charlton volunteers alongside his father Keith, the third mechanic..