Harry, S-Fabs welder, swaps the workshop for a lifeboat emergency
Amongst the noise and sparks of the S-Fabs workshop is team member Harry, who spends his days welding and fabricating until his pager beeps and he swaps the workshop for a lifeboat. For the past 12 years he has dedicated his time to volunteering for the RNLI at the Selsey Lifeboat Station, receiving emergency pagers at any time of day—even when he’s working.
Having had a strong connection to boats and sailing for a lot of his life, he never lived close enough to a station to volunteer. However, after moving to Selsey he finally had the chance to join the RNLI—and he took it!
One night in September 2023, coincidentally after a work charity event in honour of the RNLI, Harry received an emergency page. His work for the RNLI means he is always on call for emergencies so a midnight pager did not phase him. Instead, Harry headed straight for a call to find a lost late-night swimmer with his crew mates on the In-shore lifeboat, of which Harry is in charge of the helm.
After an initial search being unsuccessful, Harry and his crew threw up some flares. Thanks to a combination of luck, Harry’s training and experience he spotted something in the distance and they found the missing swimmer unresponsive but face-up in the water. Being close to the shore meant that the team could get the unresponsive woman to where the paramedics were waiting. The speed of their return to the beach helped to resuscitate the swimmer.
Thanks to a member of the S-Fabs team, as well as a whole crew of RNLI volunteers and medical personnel, the woman survived and made it to the hospital for further treatment. Their fast response time and commitment to saving this woman’s life is being recognised on the newest series of BBC 2’s Saving Lives at Sea that will be available to watch in August.