The first of May 2002 was a very special day for the RNLI, Falmouth lifeboat station and the county of Cornwall. Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, started her Golden Jubilee tour of Great Britain in Cornwall and one of her first engagements was the naming of Falmouth's new Severn class lifeboat Richard Cox Scott, It is only the fourth time a reigning monarch has named a lifeboat, the previous three occasions being The Royal British Legion Jubilee, at Henley in 1972; The Scout at Hartlepool in 1977, during the Queen's Silver Jubilee Celebration; and Her Majesty the Queen, at Ramsgate in 1993.

The Queen and the Duke arrived in Falmouth on the royal train and disembarked to a 21-gun salute from HMS Cornwall, which was moored in Falmouth harbour. The royal party then toured the new National Maritime Museum Cornwall, which is still under construction, before being escorted out onto the seaward front of this magnificent new building.

The Queen and the Duke were then presented to Peter Nicholson, Chairman of the RNLI; Andrew Freemantle, Chief Executive; Bernard Fox, chairman of Falmouth station branch; Tricia Barnes, chairman of Falmouth RNLI guild; and Graham Pearce, station honorary secretary of Falmouth station.

The Queen was then escorted onto the pontoon below where Falmouth's new Severn class lifeboat and the Atlantic 21 inshore lifeboat were berthed, with the lifeboat crew lining the pontoon. The walkway overlooking the pontoon was lined with the RNLI's guests, including representatives of the lifeboat's donors, the crew's families and the station's branch and guild.

The Queen was then presented to Falmouth's coxswain, Alan Barnes who, in turn, introduced eachof the boat's officers. Peter Nicholson then invited Her Majesty to name Falmouth's new lifeboat in the traditional manner, by breaking a bottle of champagne over her bow. The Queen then had a brief conversation with the crew of the Atlantic 21 lifeboat before Stacie Nicoll, the 6-year-old daughter of the station's senior helmsman, presented her with a posy of flowers.

The royal party then boarded the Richard Cox Scott for a tour of the harbour, accompanied on the bow of the lifeboat by Graham Pearce and Captain Mark Sansom, Falmouth's harbour master. The lifeboat was escorted by a colourful flotilla of local boats as they passed between the frigate HMS Cornwall and the sail training vessel Prince William, which were moored in the harbour. The lifeboat then proceeded to the Prince of Wales Pier where the royal party disembarked to continue its tour of Cornwall.

The £1.8m cost of the lifeboat was principally funded by a bequest from Ruth Marygold Dix Scott, who passed away in May 1998, bequeathing her residuary estate to the RNLI. Mrs Scott had a love for the sea since childhood and had lived in Cornwall for many years. The lifeboat is named after her late husband.

Over 400 guests attended a separate handing over ceremony and service of dedication at the lifeboat station in the afternoon.

At this ceremony Mrs Kate Thomson, niece of the late Mrs Scott, handed over the new lifeboat into the care of the Falmouth station.Commercial fishing alert Each year over 20 British and Irish fishermen die while out fishing. This is despite fishing vessels making up only 14% of all lifeboat services. To combat this terrible loss of life, the RNLI is offering safety seminars and practical demonstrations to help raise fishermen's understanding of safety matters.

A fishing safety roadshow will travel around the countries' main fishing ports helping to keep fishermen safe. As well as practical activities, they will give out fishing safety booklets and general water safety information.

Ian Benham, the RNLI's water safety manager, says: 'We have spent the last year consulting with the industry and fishermen have given us some suggestions on where we can help. The lifeboat service is committed to doing all it can to help reduce deaths and serious accidents in the fishing industry.' Is your child with the Force? Storm Force, the RNLI's club for children, has a brand new pack for new members. The pack is fun for children but includes a serious water safety message.

In 2001 over 1,000 young people had accidents on or near the sea. Storm Force aims to help children understand the risks so they are less likely to put themselves in danger.

The pack contains stickers, puzzles and ideas for things to do, as well as Eric the seagull's water safety tips and information about the RNLI. Members also get a copy of Storm Force News four times a year with loads of stories on real-life rescues, lifeboat news and fascinating facts.

What's more, they get a new badge for every year they are a member.

Youth education officer Gill Beaumont says: 'Storm Force membership is a great way for children to learn about the work of the lifeboats. We hope the new pack will help us to engage a whole new generation of lifesavers and supporters.' Storm Force membership costs £5 per child or £1 each for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to join please call 01202 663000.

Local Government Act 2000 Would members of the RNLI please bear in mind that, if they are also members of any local authority, they have to abide by that authority's code of conduct. Accordingly, they have to disclose their interest in any matter involving the RNLI and register their membership of the RNLI.The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has joined the nation in mourning the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. No other member of the Royal Family has had a longer association with the RNLI than The Queen Mother.

Her Majesty became Patron in 1937, just after her husband King George VI acceded to the throne.

But her close association with the RNLI already dated back at least 13 years. In 1924, the year after her marriage to the Duke of York, Her Majesty was pictured at the RNLI's centenary celebrations.

She was touring the lifeboat centenary day depots throughout London.

Two years later, in 1926, she became only the fourth member of the royal family to name a lifeboat. She drew a crowd of almost 10,000 people when she visited Montrose with hernew Montrose lifeboat John Russell. It was then that Her Majesty took her first trip on board a lifeboat.

Following the death of her husband, The Queen Mother continued her close association with the RNLI, regularly visiting lifeboat stations, particularly those close to her holiday homes in Scotland and Norfolk.

In 1969, when the Longhope lifeboat disaster claimed the lives of eight lifeboatmen, Her Majesty was among the first to send a message of sympathy to the wives and relatives of the men who died. The following year she visited Longhope to unveil a memorial to those who died and to meet their relatives.

Her Majesty visited a number of lifeboat stations, including St Helier (twice), Dover and Walmer. But Her Majesty had a particularly close relationship with Thurso lifeboat station. In 1989 she named the new Thurso lifeboat The Queen Mother. Even at 89 years of age Her Majesty donned a iifeboatman's yeilow protective jacket over her outfit and went aboard the lifeboat.

The coxswain of Thurso lifeboat, William Farquhar, was among lifeboat crew members who participated in The Queen Mother's 100th birthday pageant in Horseguards Parade.

The Queen Mother's last visit to a lifeboat station was on 20 July 1992, when she called in at Walmer lifeboat station for a short visit as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. In September 2001 the new Trent class lifeboat at Broughty Ferry in Scotland was named Elizabeth of Glamis in Her Majesty's honour.

The Queen Mother always took a keen interest in the activities of the lifeboat crews ant fundraisers and was an avid reader of the Lifeboat Her treasurer told the RNLI's Director in 1993 that, after more than 50 years as Patron, it always gave Her Majesty great pleasure to read accounts of the RNLI's work.

Everyone within the RNLI family was deeply saddened to hear of her death. The Chairman, Peter Nicholson, together with former Thurso coxswain William Farquhar, represented the RNLI at her funeral.

She once said of lifeboat crews: 'their devotion to duty, their enthusiasm and selfless voluntary work combine to form a service which is admired throughout the world.' This description is also most appropriate for Her Majesty The Queen Mother. She will be sadly missed by all within the RNLI.The RNLI took part in HM The Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations on 4 June when crew members (including two Gold medallists), beach rescue lifeguards and staff proudly escorted Mersey class lifeboat Pride and Spirit in the Services Parade.

The crowd, estimated to be around 1m people, cheered and waved Union flags as the Talus tractor pulled the lifeboat up the Mall to Buckingham Palace.

'We were carried up the Mall by waves of happy crowds, cheering as we went,' remembers Pascale Laugier, one of the RNLI team working hard behind the scenes. 'At the Queen Victoria Memorial, as we went past the Royal stand, we actually got a wave from the Queen.'The atmosphere was incredible. We started a competition with the crowds to see which side could cheer loudest. They almost deafened us/Another successful year of rescuesRNLI lifeboat crews rescued 6,918 people during 2001. This was a slight rise in the total number of people rescued, but the decline in the number of lives saved continued - a fine testament to the spread of sea safety awareness and to the increased speed and efficiency of the lifeboat service.The wreck of the steam packet Thames Following on from Tim Thompson's beautiful painting of this rescue on the front cover of our Spring issue, the Lifeboat has received many enquiries from readers wanting to know more about it.

On 4 January 1841, the 500 tonne Thames had been on passage from Dublin to London with 35 passengers and 26 crew aboard when she was hit by a severe westerly gale and very rough seas off the Isles of Scilly.

The seas found their way below deck and extinguished the boiler fires, leaving her at the mercy of the storm. Before long she was run aground on rocks.

The people of the island, seeing the ship's distress, hurried to the rescue. The first boat there, the gig Thomas, managed to get a line aboard and three women were lowered down before a sudden squall whipped up the waves. The gig began to plunge and toss with such uncontrolled fury that the crew could no longer stay alongside the Thames and had to pull back.

The rescue boats waited and waited near the wreck hoping for a lull in the weather. None came.

On board the Thames, 20 young army recruits in desperation set about launching the two ship's boats. They were all drowned in the attempt.

Then the sailors lashed together makeshift rafts and, as the main mast crashed down, tearing up the decks and causing the wreck finally to disintegrate, the remaining survivors floated off. They were not to survive for long. The rafts were soon overturned by the waves with some of the people being dashed ashore on the island of Rosevear.

Only one survived the night on the rocks. In all, 57 lives were lost in the wreck. For the brave attempt to save the crew and passengers.

Captain Charles Steel RN was awarded the RNLI's Gold Medal..