FOR the first time in 30 years, Newquay lifeboat volunteers have a permanent display of RNLI service boards up on the walls of their boathouse, listing many of the rescues carried out by the town's lifeboat crews during the first 100-plus years of the station's operation.

Since today's lifeboat station was built at Newquay Harbour in 1994, a collection of nine RNLI service boards, which list the individual rescues carried out by Newquay's lifeboat crew over a 101-year period during three separate chapters of the station's history between 1860 and 1987, have been stored out of sight in the rafters of the boathouse.

After 30 years hidden from public view and thanks to the combined efforts of the station's RNLI volunteers, the service boards have been brought down from the loft, cleaned and are now displayed on the internal walls of the station, where they can be seen and appreciated by visitors to the boathouse and lifeboat crew alike.

Examples of the wide-ranging rescues listed on the boards are the five lives saved from the schooner Heroine during the station's first rescue in 1864, the six airmen rescued from a wartime aircraft ditched in the sea in 1942 and the man saved from the sea which was the first life saved by the crew of the new inshore lifeboat, shortly after the station re-opened in 1965.

The station's volunteer lifeboat press officer, Ann-Marie Dale was the driving force behind getting the service boards up on display, along with two members of the lifeboat crew who work as carpenters in their day jobs and gave their time to complete the work, assisted by other members of the lifeboat crew who helped at various stages of the project.

Ann-Marie said: “I am so pleased to see the proud history of the station back on display for the general public and crew to see on these RNLI service boards. It's particularly apt for it to have happened during this 200th anniversary year of the charity.

“Newquay RNLI crews have operated lifeboats for 138 years and counting of those 200 years and thanks to the teamwork of everyone involved, the service boards are back in pride of place in the boathouse alongside our current inshore lifeboats, where they'll be seen by our supporters visiting the station and our lifeboat crew responding to the latest emergency calls.”