RNLI Memorial
RNLI Memorial sculpture in Poole, Dorset
“With courage, nothing is impossible”
Image from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sirius-guy/
Stainless Steel, the boat is 4.5m long, the figures are 2.7m long.
Location: on the grounds of the RNLI headquarters in Poole
Artist: Sam Holland
Unveiled: Unveiled on 3rd of September 2009 by HRH Duke of Kent.
Cost: Funded and managed by the RNLI heritage trust around £200,000.
Features: a person in a boat saving another from the water
Plinth: stainless steel depicting waves with the names of the 778 lost crew inscribed
Purpose: Designed to be a beacon of hope, symbolising the history and future of the RNLI in its most basic and humanitarian form.
Sam Holland's design was selected from 64 entries.
Image from: X user: @ScubaRoss
To those who sacrificed their own lives to save others.
Many brave and selfless lifeboat crew and search and rescue service people are remembered proudly in their local communities. However, the RNLI Memorial sculpture in Poole, Dorset, UK, is the only place where each and every one of them is named together.
The memorial was unveiled in 2009 and serves as a source of inspiration for current and future generations of lifeboat crew, lifeguards, supporters and fundraisers. It reminds us that there are still people who volunteer to carry out selfless acts of heroism to help others; and we will always remember their sacrifice.
In most cases, the names listed on the memorial saved the lives of others before losing their own. See the full list of names.
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“It is a piece that transcends time and space. It is literally one person saving another person’s life at sea.
What I wanted to achieve was for someone to realise that it was a sculpture of somebody in danger, and I did this by using the plinth.”
— Sam Holland
