A childs essay on the qualities of an RNLI Lifeboatman

The following features several quotes from a childs essay entitled "A Lifeboatman". This was written by Olive Owston a pupil at Gladstone Road School,Scarborough in 1928. The essay won a competition. She was from the Owston family who had a long tradition of service in the Lifeboats. The essay reveals a strong link to protestant methodism and its virtues of hard work and service. Many of the fishing people were members of the primitive methodist Chapel in St Sepulchre Street.

"A Lifeboatman should be a total absteiner. This is a very important feature in his character, because he would do more harm than good if he went out in the Lifeboat when he had had a drink. If he took drink he would not be ready for a call at any time; and a Lifeboatman should always be ready to go in the Lifeboat, even during the middle of a cold,snowy winter night."

"There is nothing better in a Lifeboatmans character than that he should be willing; Willing to do anything at all in his power, to help any in sad distress upon the buffeting waves".

"Work with God, love god, and above all trust god; He will aid the men, if they will do their work with God and and trust him for the best aid that he can give them. A Lifeboatman should therefore be a good man, always working with God and, above all, trusting god to the uttermost parts of the earth".

"A Lifeboatman should always have his equipment - that is, oilskin and sou'wester - in the Lifeboat ready for the urgent call. And there were no time to go home for these things, he could put them on as the boat was being pulled into the sea".

"In all spare minutes the Lifeboatman should be reading books on the Lifeboat, to see if he can learn anything more about his duties on his boat. He should be a clean man, clean in thought, word and deed. He should never use strong language or play foul in the game of life. He should always look well after himself to keep himself in the best possible health".

sources
- Scarborough Mercury,3rd August, 1928


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• The history of Filey Lifeboats
• The 200 year history of scarboroughs RNLI
• Losses amongst Filey fishing cobles
• The early years of the Scarborough Lifeboat
• Scarboroughs Lifeboat - the huge storms of October 28th 1880
• Primitive Methodism amongst the Scarborough Filey and Flamborough fishing communities
• The Allen and Truman Scarborough fishing families
• A common ancestry - The Filey Jenkinsons
• The RNLI rescue of The Rohilla,1914 at saltwick bay - Whitby
• The character of a fisherman
• Scarboroughs Old Town and its connection to the sea
• The loss of the Scarborough trawler Heritage in 1993
• Godfrey Sheader - stories of the herring fleet and Lifeboats
• Scarboroughs first Lifeboat and its first rescue in 1801
• The German bombardment of scarborough in the First World War in 1914
• Religion to a young bottom-ender