Today marks the 249th birthday of Sir William Hillary, the founder of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. In 1823 Sir William made an impassioned appeal to the nation, calling for a service dedicated to saving lives at sea, and in 1824 the RNLI was founded. | RNLI

As Christmas approaches, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is urging people to take care as statistics show lifeboats will launch over 100 times during the festive period* to help those in need. Figures over the last 10 years for the festive period show that RNLI lifeboats will launch on average 111 times, and aid 55 people back to safety with many volunteers having their festive celebrations interrupted. Andy Doe, RNLI Hastings Coxswain said: ‘This Christmas, many RNLI lifesavers w

On this day in 1899, one of the RNLI's most arduous rescues took place in Lynmouth when conditions prevented the crew from launching their lifeboat. But Coxswain Jack Crocombe refused to give up and came up with a valiant plan to haul the lifeboat over 13 gruelling miles to launch... | RNLI

By leaving a legacy to the RNLI you can help crew rescue people like Patrick, who suffered a life-threatening stroke at sea. | RNLI