Appledore RNLI crew member retires after 34 years of service

An RNLI volunteer who spent more than three decades saving lives at sea, and was awarded a rare gallantry medal for a daring night rescue, has retired from his station.

Gary Stanbury joined the Appledore RNLI crew in North Devon in 1992, shortly after moving to a house located just behind the lifeboat station. What began as lending a hand alongside friends and cousins already at the station quickly turned into an extraordinary 34-year tenure.

During his more than three decades of voluntary service, Mr Stanbury qualified in nearly every role at the station, including coxswain, mechanic, and tractor driver, before transitioning into full-time professional training and assessment roles for the lifesaving charity.

Appledore Lifeboat Operations Manager, Bob Meller, paid tribute to his immense commitment, saying: "It is always difficult to see a crew member stand down, but especially someone who has dedicated more than three decades to the station. Sorry Gary - but after 34 years on the crew, you definitely qualify as one of the old timers! Thank you for everything."

In 2005, Mr Stanbury was awarded the prestigious RNLI Bronze Medal for gallantry following a high-stakes emergency shout. As helm of the station's Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat, he alongside fellow crew members Andrew Hallett and Martin Davis navigated total darkness and large, unpredictable breaking waves caused by wind-over-tide conditions to save three men on a stranded powerboat named Kasam.

The vessel had got into severe difficulties on the Bideford Bar, an area known locally as one of the most hazardous stretches of water in the country. The bravery of the three-man crew during this rescue also earned them the Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award for the most outstanding inshore lifeboat service of the year.

His extensive RNLI career saw him serve on multiple generations of lifeboats, from the Atlantic 21 Whizzer to the Atlantic 75 Douglas Paley, and eventually the station's current Atlantic 85 Glanely. He also operated aboard Appledore’s all-weather Tyne-class and Tamar-class vessels.

In late 2020, Mr Stanbury added to his long list of nautical credentials by qualifying as a Coxswain on the Severn-class lifeboat, the largest class of vessel in the RNLI fleet, following intensive training across several South West stations, including Plymouth, Salcombe, and Penlee.

Alongside his volunteer work, Mr Stanbury initially worked locally in boat maintenance for John Pavitt Engineering, a firm tightly connected to the Appledore crew. He later turned his passion into a full-time profession with the charity. Following the COVID pandemic, he worked as an Assessor Trainer in the South West, delivering vital instruction across regional lifeboat stations.

He briefly ran his own summer river boat trips while providing winter cover as an Area Relief Mechanic and Coxswain. By 2021, his professional responsibilities expanded significantly when he became a full-time Plant and Machinery Assessor Trainer, overseeing crucial training for launch and recovery vehicles, winches, and mechanics.

Despite the heavy demands of his full-time career with the RNLI, he continuously chose to volunteer his spare time back home at Appledore as a helm, coxswain, and mechanic.

Reflecting on his motivation for volunteering, Mr Stanbury said the station crew had become far more than just a team: "It is nice to give something back to the community and to be part of a team, but it is so much more than that. The team are friends, and we are one big family. No one outside the RNLI can truly understand how close we are. Each person plays a different role, many interchangeable, covering every aspect of lifesaving at sea. The training, the high standards, and the operational procedures mean we instinctively know what to do, when to do it, and how to work together. The bond between crew members, people who place their safety in the hands of one another, who drop everything without hesitation to help people they may never even meet again, is something that cannot really be explained."

In a joint statement, the Appledore crew thanked Mr Stanbury for his decades of unwavering dedication, training, friendship, and support: "Thank you, Gary, for your years of service, dedication, training, friendship, and support. While you may be stepping down from the crew, you will always remain part of the Appledore RNLI family. We wish you every happiness in your retirement, you have earnt it."