Main content

The lifeboat ladies: Barbara and June

In this conversation Barbara and June talk about how they cope, when left at home, waiting for news of their family members on the lifeboat.

The Caister-on-Sea Lifeboat operating on the east coast of Norfolk, was the very first independent offshore lifeboat in the country. When cast adrift by the RNLI in 1969, the village people and fishermen pulled together to fund a new lifeboat and today they are rightly proud of their inshore and offshore boats.

Behind every brave lifeboat crew member is a loved one – waiting ashore for their safe return. In this conversation we hear from two lifeboat ladies, Barbara and June, who throughout their married lives have supported the Caister-on-Sea lifeboat service. Barbara’s husband Percy was a regular member of the crew and June’s son and grandson are members of the crew today.

The two ladies, both now in their late 70's, are usually to be found helping to run the lifeboat museum or manning the gift shop in the lifeboat sheds. In this conversation they talk with pride about their lifeboat, their menfolk and share their worries and ways of coping when left at home, waiting for news.

Release date:

Duration:

3 minutes

This clip is from

Featured in...