RNLI 200 Voices

153. RNLI 200 Voices Interviews: Louise Minchin

Familiar to millions as the former face of BBC Breakfast, hear how RNLI supporter Louise Minchin surprised herself with a midlife love of – and talent for – outdoor swimming 
It’s part of Louise’s family lore that she could swim before she could walk. Her passion for swimming shone during her childhood when she swam competitively until she was 15. 
Louise talks about why she decided to stop racing as a teen, and how her passion for swimming challenges resurfaced with a vengeance in her mid-40s. From the comfort of a pool to tackling a swim to Alcatraz, San Francisco, Louise shares her love of the sea – and why the RNLI is close to her heart. 
Learn more about open water swimming.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by the RNLI’s Rory Stamp  
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200

152. The Sound of Rescue: James Gaskin

Trapped under a sail after being thrown overboard in pitch darkness, James Gaskin thought it was the end. He transports us miles out to sea on a stormy night off The Lizard
Nearing the end of a solo sailing trip from Brittany to Ireland, James was enveloped by a foreboding darkness in the middle of a shipping lane. Caught in squalls, he battened down the hatches, but was thrown overboard. Utterly exhausted, and dreading that a giant tanker might run over him, he thought his time was up.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by Adventurous Audio 
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200   
 

151. Dunkirk Stowaway: Stanley E Holtom

When school friends Stanley and Peter boarded a cabin cruiser in 1940, little did they know they’d play a part in the Dunkirk evacuation
It was the Second World War rescue mission that Winston Churchill called a ‘miracle of deliverance’. The port of Dunkirk was destroyed – its beaches the only escape route for nearly 340,000 retreating allied troops. 
Shallow waters meant that big ships couldn’t get close enough for a mass evacuation. Only the smallest of vessels could reach the shattered soldiers. Responding to a request by Britain’s Ministry of Shipping, an armada of 700 little boats – including pleasure craft and private yachts – quickly formed.
Among the volunteers were RNLI crews from Ramsgate and Margate. And, as chance would have it, aboard a cabin cruiser, 8-year-old Stanley Holtom and his friend, Peter. This is the story of how two little boys came to take part in Operation Dynamo.
Hear more about the RNLI's involvement in Operation Dynamo in episode 15 – Lifesaving in Wartime: John Ray 
Learn more about the RNLI's extraordinary efforts in the Second World War in a special episode of Saving Lives at Sea, presented by Dermot O'Leary. Search Series 9: Episode 1 on BBC iPlayer or visit https://tinyurl.com/4cryn54u
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by the RNLI's Eleanor Driscoll
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200   
 

150. Radio Drama: David O’Driscoll

David, a Watch Officer with the Irish Coast Guard, knows exactly how it feels to listen to the radio for news of a loved one who’s out at sea. As a boy, he was the one listening
When David O’Driscoll was a child, he and his family would gather round his grandmother’s kitchen table to listen to radio exchanges between the Coast Guard and his father, who – as an RNLI coxswain – was out on another rescue. Looking back, he is reminded of a line from the Phil Coulter song Home from the Sea: ‘They gathered in pairs at the foot of the stairs to wait for the radio call.’
David wondered who the other voice belonged to. Today, in his role as Watch Officer in Valentia, he is that voice. His grandmother still listens for updates – but nowadays, it’s David she hears on the radio.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by Adventurous Audio 
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200   
 
 

149. The Prince and the Lifesaver: Mark Criddle OBE

The RNLI’s most decorated serving coxswain on launching to a Greek Prince, and meeting a real one
On the night of 13 January 2008, the crew of the Greek-registered cargo ship Ice Prince was in serious trouble 31 miles off Portland Bill. Arriving on scene in atrocious conditions, the crew of the Torbay lifeboat found the Ice Prince taking on water and listing badly – she was destined to sink beneath the waves. Torbay Coxswain Mark Criddle reflects on the rescue that would earn him an RNLI Silver Medal for Gallantry.
Discover 11 remarkable rescue stories – including Mark’s – in our book, Surviving the Storms.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by the RNLI's Eleanor Driscoll 
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200   

148. Lifesaving Legacy: Jamie Robson White

In the case of Jamie Robson White – descendant of famous lifesavers – the apple didn’t fall far from the tree
With a heritage like Jamie Robson White’s, it’s no wonder he’s passionate about saving lives at sea – lifesaving is tightly woven into his family history. In this episode, Jamie – full-time Second Coxswain at Humber Lifeboat Station and volunteer at Whitby Lifeboat Station – shares memories of his grandmother first showing him the family tree.
Jamie is a distant relative of Grace Darling and a descendant of Michael Robson – both present at the famous Forfarshire shipwreck rescue in 1838.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by Adventurous Audio 
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200   
 

147. Neigh Problem: Jonathan Connor

A horse is trapped in an oyster bed. The tide is coming in. Kinsale Helm Jonathan Connor on galloping to the rescue
When the pager goes off, RNLI crew never know what to expect. But a horse trapped in an oyster bed? That was a first. Kinsale crew member Jonathan Connor recalls the crisp February morning when the RNLI were called to the rescue of Paddy the horse, whose owner couldn’t swim.
An unusual call out, but Jonathan isn’t new to drama. When he was 17, and a trainee at Kinsale, he was in the lifeboat station and heard a Mayday call over the radio. What he did next helped buy the lifeboat crew vital time to launch to the scene.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by Adventurous Audio 
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200   

146. River Rescue: Michael Swan

Meet the man helping to cut the number of river drownings in Galway
The River Corrib in Galway is fast-flowing and dangerous. In the past, because of a lack of communication and co-ordination between local agencies, when a person entered the river, the RNLI couldn’t get there in time. Galway RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Michael Swan was determined to change that.
He talks about working with other local emergency services and agencies to put an effective, co-ordinated search and rescue plan in place. With innovative technology, improved communication, and awareness and prevention schemes, the RNLI are now able to launch to the rescue in time – and help save more lives.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by Adventurous Audio 
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200   
 

145. Calm Hands on Deck: Aroop Mozumder

The RNLI’s Medical Director on the unique challenges crew face, from performing casualty care on the deck of a lifeboat to coping with traumatic shouts
Aroop Mozumder is the RNLI’s first Medical Director – and he’s a busy man. Having previously put his medical skills to use in war zones and humanitarian disaster zones, Aroop talks about how his experiences as a military doctor have prepared him well for life in the RNLI.  
Acknowledging the difficult conditions in which RNLI crew treat injured and distressed people, Aroop says that practicing ‘good medicine in bad places’ is a tough job and can have traumatic consequences – something that he is working hard to address.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by Eleanor Driscoll
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200   
 

144. Women in Engineering: Holly Phillips MBE

A to E – Principal Engineer Holly Phillips on designing the fastest lifeboat in the RNLI fleet
Holly Phillips has always loved boats, spending most of her life being in them, on them or under them. Having joined the RNLI Poole crew in 1992, and starting as Senior Naval Architect 10 years later, she shaped the evolution of lifeboat engineering during her impressive 21-year career at the RNLI.
In particular, she was instrumental in the design of the fast and manoeuvrable E class lifeboat, and was at the helm of the team that saw the project through from conception to launch. It was this that led to Holly being awarded an MBE by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – which Holly humbly describes as a team effort.
In this episode, hear Holly talk about her inspirational career as a woman in engineering, and why the challenging moments along the way always ended up being the most rewarding.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by the RNLI's Eleanor Driscoll
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200