RNLI Mudeford have been flying it's flag at half-mast in honour of "brave" former crew member John Rathmell, who died on June 21, 2020.
John joined Mudeford RNLI in 1975 and devoted more than a decade to keeping people safe in Christchurch Bay and The Solent.
His beloved wife Madeleine told the Bournemouth Echo how she would stand at the back bedroom window of their Howards Close home, willing John's white Cortina to appear along Mudeford Lane, after he was called to an emergency at sea.
"The RNLI maroons would sound and John would be off, down The Run and out to sea, in all weathers and in every season," said Madeleine. "I would stand at the back bedroom window and wait biting my nails, willing him to come home safe when he was called out at night.
Madeleine said: "During the summer, the crew would often be called to rescue windsurfer's, as they became more popular and inflatable dinghy's swept out to sea. The Solent is a busy stretch and there were many serious incidents to which John would be called. He never spoke of some of the things he had witnessed out at sea."
"He did love the training, which was held every Sunday morning and would often involve the Search and Rescue team. John was in his element."
John worked as a boat builder with Tom Lack, who designed, built and sailed the popular Catalac cruising catamarans, which sold worldwide, from their yard in Priory Quay, Christchurch.
And Madeleine's late father, Ken Hollowaywas an illustrator and model maker who designed the lifeboat station in Mudeford.
During the late 1980's the couple bought a house in Lingwood Avenue, where they lived until 2015.
Madeleine added: "John will be sadly missed by all his family and friends."
John died peacefully at Barton Lodge Care Home, Dawlish.
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