The Hastings RNLI Inshore Lifeboat was formally named on Saturday, I shall cut and paste the following information about this boat and its naming, obtained from the RNLI Hastings Lifeboat Station facebook page, many thanks for the information and photographs to the Hastings Lifeboat Station, crew and volunteers, cheers!
The new lifeboat was named Richard Francis...
"Richard’s mother, Elizabeth Anne Francis, who was known as Anne, was born on the 26th July 1924. As a child she loved the sea and spent her childhood holidays on the Norfolk coast. She and her brother Dick loved to sail the Norfolk and Suffolk coast throughout her teenage years, which often terrified their parents.
When Anne was 15 war broke out, and as soon as she was old enough, she joined the WRNS. She did not go to sea as she had hoped but served at Bletchley Park as part of the code-breaking Team that is now acknowledged as being a vital part of winning the war. She also sailed to Ceylon, to work on Japanese codes at the Bletchley Park outpost until the end of the war.
After the war Anne went to Cambridge University to read English and met Peter Francis. They married and had six children. Their eldest son, Richard (pictured below), loved the sea and sailing. He learned to sail as a boy and during his teenage years, like his mother, sailed whenever he could. Richard, with his three brothers, built his own sailing boat, but very sadly, soon after this was finished, he became ill and died shortly before his 22nd birthday.
After the war Anne went to Cambridge University to read English and met Peter Francis. They married and had six children. Their eldest son, Richard (pictured below), loved the sea and sailing. He learned to sail as a boy and during his teenage years, like his mother, sailed whenever he could. Richard, with his three brothers, built his own sailing boat, but very sadly, soon after this was finished, he became ill and died shortly before his 22nd birthday.
Because of their shared love of sailing and the sea, and because she wanted Richard's memory to continue after her death, Anne left a legacy to the RN LI, as this best reflected her and Richard's passion for the sea, and compassion for those at risk from it.
Peter Adams, the RNLI’s Lifeboat Operations Manager at Hastings said. ‘Anne’s legacy has funded the new Hastings inshore lifeboat which will be formally named on Saturday. Her generosity, and her son’s memory, will live on for many years to come as the lifeboat, and its volunteer crew, carries out its work of saving lives at sea. Everyone at Hastings, and the wider RNLI family, wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Anne, and the members of her family, for supporting us with this lifesaving work."
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