Cornwall surf life-saving community pays tribute to Queen

Competitors paid respect to the Queen at the SLSGB Open National Surf Championships

Members of the surf life-saving community in Cornwall, which has "strong links to the Royal family", have paid tribute to the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth II was patron of The Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) and Prince Philip was patron of Surf Life Saving GB (SLSGB).

The Royal couple helped to transport key life-saving equipment to Bude from Australia in the 1950s, members said.

A key SLSGB national championship in Perranporth was cancelled on Saturday.

The Queen and Prince Philip on their tour to Australia in 1954 when they were asked to support life-saving in Bude

The opening day of the Open National Surf Championships was called off.

On Sunday the event started with a two-minute silence.

Nigel Bowden, events manager for SLSGB and chair of Cornwall SLS, said "every single member" observed the two-minute silence, followed by a cheer for the new king which he described as "surreal".

Mr Bowden, who is also secretary of the Perranporth club, said the town had felt the significance of the monarch's passing, commenting: "Last time this happened milk was still being delivered by horse and cart".

The Queen and Prince Philip visited a new lifeboat in Falmouth in 2002 which Her Majesty launched on behalf of the RNLI

King Charles III and the Queen Consort met Bude club members in 2013

He said the club had "strong links with the Royal family", with many members having been recognised by the Queen and Prince Philip at garden parties at Buckingham Palace.

"Things are happening in the background that people don't realise. We were so lucky to have a Royal family that supported the good work," he said.

SLSGB said it had been a "difficult decision" to cancel the first day of its "premier event"

Tim Coventry, CEO of SLSGB, told the BBC the Queen and Prince Philip's affiliation with life-saving in Cornwall dated back to 1954 when they met "experienced surf life-savers" on a tour to Australia.

He said the Queen and the Duke brought important equipment over for the UK's first surf life-saving club in Bude, which had been set up the previous year by Australian Alan Kennedy.

Adrian Parsons, a life member of the club, said: "At the time the Queen was touring the Commonwealth and the reel and surf ski were sent over on the Royal Yacht Gothic on return to this country."

In 2021 Cornwall's surf life-saving club volunteers made 69 interventions "which could have prevented lives lost," SLSGB said

Nigel Boden said this showed the Royal couple's "commitment to beach safety".

Mr Coventry said that trip had been significant.

"The Duke told me he was challenged to go back... and do everything he could support it," he said.

The Bude club was given The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2018.

As patron of the Royal Life Saving Society, the Queen also "met RLSS volunteers from the South West region at various receptions hosted at Buckingham Palace", spokesperson Emma Harrison said.

The society added she "inspired" many young people in life-saving and would be "dearly missed".