It was 4 March 1824, an average Thursday lunchtime. Bishopsgate’s trendy London Tavern, renowned for its ‘dinners, wines and turtle’, was about to make lifesaving history …

The industrial revolution was in full fog by the early 19th century and London was thriving as the largest city in the world. Global business was conducted here by the people that mattered. But it was one man, from a small island, that would unite these movers and shakers in creating the lifesaving charity we know today as the RNLI.

Sir William Hillary was a philanthropic and complex man. An English soldier, Quaker by descent, he was former Equerry to Prince Augustus Frederick, the son of George III. Hillary sailed regularly with the Prince, learning seamanship and navigation skills, and went on to create a vast private army to serve the King against Napoleon’s threatened invasion. His loyalty was to come at huge personal cost though. Hillary had exhausted his wife’s inheritance and was soon in financial crisis. He eloped to the Isle of Man in 1808 and put a few miles between himself and his creditors.

Living in Douglas, Hillary saw the treacherous nature of the sea first-hand. Many ships were being wrecked around the Manx coast and Hillary refused to sit by and watch people drown. He saved many lives with the help of locals but knew more had to be done. He drew up plans for a lifeboat service manned by trained crews, for all of the UK and Ireland. In 1823 he published a pamphlet, appealing to the British Navy on forming a National Institution for the Preservation of Lives and Property from Shipwreck.

This noble idea fell on deaf ears – the Admiralty refused to help. So he changed tack, rebranding his appeal for the more philanthropic members of London society instead. It was to be a masterstroke. This time the idea caught the eye of Thomas Wilson, energetic Liberal MP for Southwark; and shipping magnate George Hibbert, Whig MP for Seaford and Chairman of the West Indies Merchants. Despite some personal differences Hillary, Wilson and Hibbert became a formidable force and the campaign rapidly gathered momentum. They organised a small, private gathering to appoint an interim committee but agreed that a public meeting should be the main launchpad. And what better venue than the fashionable London Tavern where other charities had been founded?

GOING PUBLIC
The date of the inaugural public meeting was well-advertised and face-to-face lobbying was paying off as more and more benefactors came onboard. The King and his sons assured royal patronage, and the Prime Minister agreed to be President. As for those actually in the tavern that day, The Archbishop of Canterbury was to preside over a crowd of aristocrats, clerics, politicians, naval officers, brokers, bankers, merchants and philanthropists, including anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce and sea safety guru Captain George Manby. But a smooth ride was not assured: there were big egos, conflicting beliefs and bitter adversaries from the frontbenches. And one chap, in particular, could barely conceal his envy of the great Sir William.

Hillary wasn’t actually there though – a fact seemingly glossed over in Wilson’s beautifully handwritten minutes. Hibbert was conspicuously absent too. Some have suggested that the two were on hectic schedules and pulling more strings in the background. But one could speculate that their rocky relationship was the real reason. Hibbert was one of Sir William’s creditors and it was common knowledge that the latter had absconded to avoid repayment. There was no love lost between Hibbert and Wilberforce either. The shipping magnate had famously demolished a 3½-hour speech by Wilberforce in that same room a few years earlier. Wilson, now Acting Chairman of this fledgling institution, would have known the risks of having them in the same room.

Whatever the personal issues, the objects of the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck were then set out before the distinguished gathering. The crowd unanimously passed 12 resolutions, including: ‘That an Institution be now formed … to be supported by donations and annual subscriptions. That such immediate assistance be afforded to persons rescued as their necessities may require. That the subjects of all nations be equally objects of the Institution, as well in war as in peace [and] that medallions or pecuniary rewards be given to those who rescue lives …’ Little did they know that these 12 resolutions would still stand as part of the RNLI’s charter almost 200 years later.

Those representing spoke eloquently about the cause. Wilberforce said he was honoured to be there and that ‘an Institution like this seems so natural to this country’ that he was ‘astonished it had not long before this period been established’. He added that, in the past, ‘crews were more liable to be plundered than to be relieved’ and believed that they were now ‘atoning for the crimes of those who had gone before us’.

FATHER FIGURE
A further nine resolutions, mainly recognising the efforts of the key players, met with eager approval but when Sir William was praised as ‘Father of the Institution’ the speaker was rudely shot down. Captain Manby, architect of many brilliant lifesaving devices was furious that his heroic efforts were now being overshadowed. He nudged his brother-in-law Thomas Gooch who blustered: ‘However great might be William Hillary’s merits, the formation of such a society as the present had been recommended long ago by Captain Manby.’ This, of course, was a lie. Manby’s focus had always been on installing his inventions at the coast. The Archbishop swiftly stepped in to pacify them, stating that it had been ‘a very honourable competition’ and that thanks ‘would be given to both men’.

It was a landmark moment – Hillary’s vision had become a reality. He would have been delighted to read the report in The Morning Chronicle the following day. Two months later he could still barely contain his joy when he wrote: ‘… this Institution has been [honoured] by the high patronage of the King ... sanctioned by many of the most distinguished characters in the church and state, and sustained by the bounty of a generous nation ... it only remains for me to express the heartfelt satisfaction … that this Institution is now established on principles which will extend its beneficial effects to the most distant shores, and to generations yet unborn.’

BRAINWAVE IN THE BAR?
We think that the RNLI was the best thing to ever come out of a pub. But what do our Facebook and Twitter followers think is the greatest idea to come from a trip to their local?

Boatshed.com
In a pub in west London my friend and I made a pact that we'd travel around India together. The next year we did it. One of my best life experiences ever.

Susan Wood
I created the idea for Lytham's Last Night of the Proms festival … after a trip to the pub and a dream!

Peter Edwards
TO HAVE A SECOND PINT AND JOIN THE RNLI!!

Chris Cockroft
To join a lifeboat crew ... best decision I've ever made, full stop. Not just in a pub :-)

Perennial Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society
… our charity was founded almost identically … 175 years ago on 17 January, at the Crown and Sceptre on the Strand.

Boylo's – All Things Water
My partner joined the RNLI after talking to some of the guys in the pub. He is now crew at Lyme Regis Lifeboat Station!

Melanie Wilson
Twenty one years ago I tried every single malt on the shelves and came away with a husband :-)