Bravery awards

One of the RNLI’s many traditions has been to reward outstanding acts of skill and bravery. RNLI awards are not given lightly, and a consistently high standard must be maintained; the process to choose the extra-special services that merit an award is a lengthy one to ensure this consistency.

RNLI gallantry - today

The four ‘senior’ RNLI awards for gallantry are the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals, and the Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum. Other RNLI awards are Framed Letters of Thanks signed by the Chairman and Letters of appreciation signed by the Chief Executive or Operations Director.

The process

The details of all rescues are recorded at the lifeboat station on a ‘Return of Service’ and sent to the RNLI headquarters in Poole. The service information section then screens all service reports, which is a big task, especially when there are over 7,500 lifeboat launches each year and over 8,000 lifeguard incidents reported. It’s important to look through every report so that merit, in whatever form, gets recognised.

If a service is highlighted as worthy of a possible award, a full report of the service is then written by the relevant divisional inspector. If an inspector's report recommends one of the senior awards, it is considered by the Operations Director and Chief Executive and, if supported, is taken forward to the next meeting of the RNLI’s Board of Trustees.

Award ceremony

Most awards are presented at special local occasions. For the crew who are awarded Medals for their gallantry they are presented at the Annual Presentation of Awards ceremony, held each May in London. By this time it can be more than a year after the rescue has taken place but the special occasion is well worth the wait.

Number of medals awarded

Since 1824 the following medals have been awarded:

Gold: 150
Silver: 1564
Bronze: 793 (from 1917 only)

The medals are engraved on the edge with the name of the recipient and the date the award was voted.