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Photograph of Robin Sutton outside the Cullercoats RNLI lifeboat station

Robin Sutton

Robin belongs to: Cullercoats RNLI

Robin was born in Whitley Bay and grew up in Tynemouth. Before joining the RNLI Robin was a member of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade for 20 years.

Robin was interviewed by Kylea Little on 22 January 2006. The interview took place at Cullercoats RNLI lifeboat station and lasted 39 minutes and 37 seconds.

Photograph of Robin Sutton outside the Cullercoats RNLI lifeboat station
Photograph of Roin Sutton outside the Cullercoats RNLI lifeboat station

Role in the RNLI

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"Well, with Cullercoats, I’ve been here about eight years now"

Well, with Cullercoats, I’ve been here about eight years now, I came down following a 20 year stint as a brigadesman and a captain at Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade.

I decided to come down here and go take a job as shore crew. I’ve always been known as being quite a prolific fundraiser and there was an opportunity here to make them a few bob and at the same time feel useful at the fact that I was driving a tractor, and teaming it up and doing all the things that a shore crewman does. Unfortunately, I was too old to be a member of the actual crew itself. But it was a request basically, after I left the life brigade to see if I would come down, and I thought there was still a little bit of time and that.

And since then, I arrived three years ago I received a letter from the Institute requesting me to become Chairman, and, which I gratefully accepted. It is, it’s not a local appointment, it’s an appointment now, the RNLI do this from Poole, and obviously it’s based on recommendations from people round about. And if you’re likely to by a non-Tynemouth, sorry, to be a Tynemouth person, here I am now, in a Cullercoats role, it doesn’t cut with some people, but I’ve never been the most popular person in the world, but if I can mediate, if I can assist, that’s what’s it’s all about.

And the other thing was I would only take the job on if I could still remain as part of the shore crew, so, if you like, I can still do my bit, I can still do my pager, I can still turn out and drive the tractor if necessary. Mind you, you’ve got to beat these lads, and they’re quick, you know, with us being the fastest launching boat in the fleet, which we’re really, really proud of.

Robin has 7 memories in the memorynet:

This memory has these themes:
Equipment | The North East

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