Aberdovey’s newest crew member, Steve Bowen (18), has been following the family’s RNLI tradition since he was 2 years old.

Steve was the star of a UK-wide RNLI advertising campaign in 1992. His father Dave, who was on the crew for 15 years and is now the station’s volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, says: ‘It’s bizarre to think that 16 years ago Steve was on the jetty with camera flashes going off around him, playing a young child who had been rescued. Now, he will be saving lives himself as a crew member.’

The Bowen family has been heavily involved in the local lifeboat since moving from the English Midlands in 1967.

Steve’s grandfather Al Bowen was Deputy Launching Authority for 12 years, and his uncle, Richard Garside, is the current Helmsman of the station’s Atlantic 75 lifeboat Sandwell Lifeline. The fundraising activities of other relatives have raised thousands of pounds for the RNLI.