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Appeal for Pride of Sherwood:
The Nottinghamshire Lifeboat Appeal Committee
was formed in May 1997 with the objective of raising the £70,000
required to fund the purchase of an Atlantic 75 class inshore
lifeboat. All branches and guilds in the county were invited
to participate and their involvement was in addition to their
regular fund-raising activities.
The Area Organiser at the time, Deryck Davison,
was appointed Chairman of the Appeal Committee, with Lynne
Taylor (Calverton) as Secretary, David Townsend (Nottingham)
as Treasurer and Gillian Christian (Lady Bay) as Badge Coordinator.
The Nottinghamshire Lifeboat Appeal is given a boost when
The Lord Mayor of Nottingham presents a cheque from the City
Council Social Club.
The Appeal was officially launched on Saturday
14th June 1997 when Lord Lieutenant Sir Andrew Buchanan (Patron)
and The Lord Mayor purchased the first of the special appeal
badges.
Appeal events included coffee mornings, collections,
quiz evenings, a dinner at Clarendon College, a farm open
day, sales of special draw tickets, sales of "Lifeboat
Wine", sponsored walks, concerts (Carlton male Voice
Choir & other bands), a silent auction, and garden parties...
to name a few! The appeal was also taken to over 50 schools
around the county to raise awareness and funds.
The £70,000 required for the boat was
raised in less than two years. She was officially handed to
the RNLI by Sir Andrew Buchanan at the Naming Ceremony outside
County Hall, on the banks of the Trent, on 5th June 1999.
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Previous
Appeals and Lifeboats (1867-1983):
The Pride of Sherwood is not the first lifeboat
to be provided by the generosity of the people of Nottinghamshire.
A county-wide appeal in the early 1980's wholly funded the
Brede-class lifeboat "Nottinghamshire" (ON 1102:
33-10) which went on station at Invergordon and later at Oban.
In 1929, the £4,595 "City of Nottingham"
lifeboat was provided by the Nottingham Motor Lifeboat Fund.
She was a 35'6" self-righting motor lifeboat with a 35hp
engine and a cruising speed of 7.5knots. She saw service at
Hythe (1930-36), launching 17 times and saving 16 people,
and at Clovelly (1936-1950), launching 36 times and saved
27 lives. In 1948, the crew of the City of Nottingham were
awarded medals for gallantry.
Even earlier, on 7th January 1867, the lifeboat
"Robin Hood" was launched onto the River Trent,
"having been christened in the Market Place by the Mayoress
and paraded the streets to the riverside". The Robin
Hood was then taken, by rail, to serve at Boulmer on the Northumberland
coast.
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