2 March, 2007

THE FORMER chairman of the Lerwick branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) has been commended after 35 years of service.

Captain David Polson spent 10 years as chairman of Lerwick RNLI and was also the deputy launching authority.

He received a letter of thanks from the RNLI chief executive Andrew Fremantle for his long service and was presented with a Certificate of Service for his role as the deputy launching authority.

"My time with the RNLI has been extremely interesting. I've seen many changes over the past 35 years, an important one being the change in call outs," Capt Polson said.

"When I first began in 1971, I had to phone around the crew members when an alert from the coastguard came in. Nowadays, the crew are alerted by pager which is much more efficient."

Four ex-lifeboat crew members Neil Fraser, Stevie Grant, Bobby Gear and Jerry Pottinger have also received letters of thanks. Current crew member John Sinclair received a letter of thanks and a 20 years long service badge.

The final presentation of the evening was made by Kathleen Grant in memory of her husband Mitney Grant, previously a crew member of the Lerwick lifeboat.

She presented coxswain Neil Clark with a pair of night vision binoculars to use in rough sea conditions.

The donation also included a sum of £1000 for the Lerwick Ladies Lifeboat Guild.