Martin Woodward on Saving Lives

The ‘Jesse Lumb’ was replaced in 1970 by the ‘Jack Shayler and the Lees’ which was a steel boat, much different, but the ‘Jesse Lumb’ was a great boat and we were quite sad to see it go in a way.

It’s wonderful to have it back.

Just briefly, the history of it is that it was used in the Reserve Fleet after it left here for quite a few years, and then the Imperial War Museum acquired it and their volunteers restored it because they wanted to have a Lifeboat there, because the ‘Jesse Lumb’ was involved in quite a few rescues of Airmen and the Imperial War Museum at Duxford is basically an aircraft Museum, but they wanted to put that factor in that Lifeboats rescued Airmen.

Inevitably after … well it’s only about two years ago I’d had my finger on the pulse with it for several years because I’d heard a rumour that they were going to move it out to make room for new displays, so I managed to get them to gift it to us, our little Historic Lifeboat Trust here, and we got it back the July before last, and it’s now down in Cowes in a shed down there on display.

So, nice to have it back after all this time, and it was built in the same Yard, in J S White’s, so that’s good news