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RNLI volunteer honoured for 50 years of West Cumbria service

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 20 Oct, 13:32 · Archive

Joan Kirkwood McDowell, 84, has received a 50-year Long Service Award from the RNLI for her work with the Workington and Whitehaven lifeboat crews.

Joan Kirkwood McDowell, 84, from West Cumbria has been honoured with a 50-year Long Service Award by the RNLI for her decades of dedication to supporting lifeboat crews. She began volunteering in 1975 and has served in numerous roles with the Workington and Whitehaven RNLI Fundraising Branch, including chair and secretary of the branch committee.

McDowell said she has especially enjoyed collecting soft toys for tombolas, washing and sanitising them for their new owners. Her connection to the RNLI runs deep: her late husband Alan was Coxswain at Workington Lifeboat Station from 1967 to 1972. She recalled fundraising together on Whitehaven Marina with RNLI collection buckets.

Her public service extends beyond the RNLI. In 2004, she served as Mayor of Workington, following her mother who held the same position in 1984. During her mayoral term, she chose the RNLI as one of her charities alongside Parkinson's Disease Society, as her husband had Parkinson's. Dani Beckett, RNLI Community Manager in Cumbria, described McDowell's dedication over 50 years as 'nothing short of extraordinary'.

RNLI volunteer honoured for 50 years of West Cumbria service
Image: Cumberland News

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In this story: Joan Kirkwood McDowell · RNLI · Workington · Whitehaven · Cumbria

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