THE Mayor of Weston-super-Mare attended the RNLI shop to award the King’s Coronation Medals to members of the voluntary lifeboat crew.

RNLI Weston-super-Mare was honoured to welcome the Mayor Cllr John Crockford-Hawley to the shop last week where he presented the King’s Coronation Medals to a number of the crew.

The commemorative medals were created to honour the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, that took place on May 6, 2023.

As well as the Armed Forces, the medal was awarded to members of the Civilian Emergency Services, such as the RNLI, who had completed 5 years’ continuous service, and were in service at the time of the coronation.

(Image: Rob Lewis/RNLI)

Chris Ware, Lifeboat operations manager at the station said: “The presentation of the King’s Coronation medal, acting as a token of the nation’s thanks, follows a long history of awarding medals to mark Royal celebrations, with the first one awarded in 1883, commemorating the 50th year of Queen Victoria’s reign.

"We are very grateful to be included in this long tradition.”

Speaking at the event, the Lord Mayor said: “There are a couple of voluntary organisations which we could take for granted, but don’t, and the public is always behind them.

“For youngsters, it’s the Scouting Organisation, and for slightly older people, it’s the RNLI - volunteers coming together to save lives.”

Following the presentations, the attendees enjoyed refreshments provided by RNLI shop volunteers.