Saving Lives At Sea

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. The collection relates to the early days of the institution, known until 1854 as the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck. The efforts of Sir William Hilary and others involved in the charity’s early days are recorded in these unique documents and reveal their part in the development the first national lifeboat institution in the world, which, to date, has saved over 140,000 lives.

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