Dart RNLI pays tribute to station member Auntie Jill in lifeboat naming

The Atlantic 85 class lifeboat on the River Dart

The official naming of a new inshore lifeboat will pay tribute to a "well-loved" member of an RNLI station.

The Dart RNLI lifeboat - to be named Frank C Samworth - was funded by a legacy from Jill Samworth.

Mrs Samworth died in January 2017 and left a "generous sum to Dart RNLI" and said the money should be used for a new lifeboat and equipment.

Michael Bryant-Mole, Dart RNLI lifeboat operations manager, said the crew was "extremely grateful" to Mrs Samworth.

The new B-class inshore lifeboat is being named after Mrs Samworth's late husband, Frank Samworth - a request Mrs Samworth made before she passed away, the RNLI said.

The RNLI said Mrs Samworth, known as Auntie Jill by the station in Devon, first came to Dart Lifeboat Station one Sunday morning more than 10 years ago.

It said she would return every Sunday and travelled by taxi from her home 10 miles (16km) away in Thurlestone.

Jill Samworth died in January 2017 and left a "generous sum to Dart RNLI"

The RNLI said Mrs Samworth always arrived with cooked sausages for the crew and an expensive tin of biscuits for "her boys".

Mrs Samworth was always deeply concerned for the crew and their families, according to the RNLI, which said she never had any children of her own and "delighted in adopting the crew".

In the last few years, as she became frail, two of the Dart RNLI crew would travel to her home to help out, and take her for a coffee or a trip out.

Mr Bryant-Mole said: "Dart RNLI has around 50 launches per year and the search and rescue capability of Jill's bequest has enabled us to save people from the water, deal with injured boat crews, escort and tow stricken vessels and rescue dogs off cliffs in the short period that our B class has been operational."

Representatives from Mrs Samworth's family will hand the boat into the care of the RNLI, and carry out the official naming at a ceremony outside the Dart RNLI Lifeboat Station at 14:00 BST.

The event is by invitation only, but members of the public are able to watch from a distance.

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