25 November 2024
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Shipwrecks were the impetus for the establishment of the RNLI in 1824
During the early 1800s an average of 1,800 vessels were wrecked, annually, off the British coastline. These disasters led to the establishment of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1824 and this year it celebrates its 200th anniversary. Part of the celebrations see a new collection of digitised RNLI records on Ancestry.
Ancestry has partnered with the RNLI to celebrate 200 years of saving lives at sea by making thousands of the RNLI’s historic records accessible to the public.
Simon Pearce, Family History Expert at Ancestry: ‘We are thrilled to celebrate the RNLI's 200th anniversary by digitising its invaluable records. This project not only honours the charity’s rich history but also makes these important resources freely accessible to everyone, allowing families and researchers to connect with their maritime heritage like never before.’
From crew cards of RNLI crew, records of rescues, to records of volunteer awards and gallantry medals given for brave acts of courage, these valuable records can help people to unlock unknown parts of their history, with the documents dating and locating family members of the past, and in some instances providing imagery too.
The digitisation collection comprises 58,000 records, spans 1824-1989, and may be searched or browsed at https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62701/ with a subscription to Ancestry.
David Welton, Heritage Manager at RNLI, said: ‘We are very excited to be making parts of our extensive archive collection available to the public for the very first time. Opening access will mean many will discover their family connection to the RNLI and explore records of their ancestors in our collection. We are grateful to Ancestry for allowing us to make this happen and for it to be in our 200th year of lifesaving makes it even more special.’
