New £1.8m lifeboat named after beloved nurse

Caister's new £1.8m lifeboat has been named after former nurse Annette Thurlow

A £1.8m lifeboat championed as one of the best in the UK has been named after a former nurse who died suddenly in 2018.

A ceremony on Tuesday unveiled Caister-on-Sea's independent all-weather vessel as the Annette Thurlow.

The station near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, traditionally names its boats after its largest benefactor - so a charity was set up in Mrs Thurlow's name, which raised about £150,000.

Mrs Thurlow's husband Dick Thurlow, who was coxswain between 1991 and 2004, said there had been "a lot of tears" at the official naming, but it had been a "wonderful occasion".

Annette Thurlow had worked in nursing for more than 30 years, her family said

Mrs Thurlow was also the mother of current joint coxswain, Richard, and crew member Aaron.

The lifeboat has been fitted with equipment to make casualties more comfortable and can now self-right in choppy seas

Son Richard reiterated his father's sentiments and said: "It's a huge moment - it's a proud moment for the family, station, village and the lifeboat community in general."

He explained his mother's job as a nurse meant she was passionate about organs being donated to help prolong lives.

However, no cause of death could ever be established for her and so it meant her organs could not be used.

"We couldn't go through that process for her, so we looked at trying to save lives another way and that's where this idea sprung from," said Richard.

"It's such a fitting tribute."

Dick Thurlow said the unveiling of the new lifeboat in honour of his late wife was a "wonderful occasion"

Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, Lady Pippa Dannatt, officially christened the boat, which was built on the Isle of Wight and should be in service for about 25 years.

It has better care facilities for casualties, is more comfortable for the crew and is able to self-right itself, said joint coxswain Owen Nutt, who joined the lifeboat with Richard when they were both 15.

It also has thermal imaging equipment so the crew can pick up casualties who might not have been previously spotted in the water.

"It's great for us as an independent lifeboat in a small village... to have the latest technology and one of the best boats in the UK," said Mr Nutt.

'For the love of it'

Caister Lifeboat was part of the RNLI from 1857 to 1969, when the station was scheduled for closure, but the lifeboat men were determined to retain their service.

The station said it was now the only independent lifeboat in the UK mainland that operated both an all-weather - or offshore - lifeboat and inshore craft.

The lifeboat is already in operation and has saved nine lives so far, according to the crew, including four people who were saved from a stricken yacht, stranded on a sandbank.

Two Danish, Austrian and German crew members were rescued from the yacht, but they had no money, passports or clothing.

Caister Lifeboat found them accommodation in Great Yarmouth and fed them, before paying for their train tickets to London where their respective embassies took over.

On Tuesday, a letter arrived from the German ambassador thanking the station for their efforts, which chairman and crew member Paul Garrod praised as "absolutely wonderful".

"There are about 60 of us - none of us are paid - we all do it for the love of it," he said.

"A lot of people go out and collect stamps, but we go out and save lives.

"It's a hobby to us, but we absolutely love it."