The RNLI has announced the opening of the Stories of Courage exhibition at the Lighthouse Arts and Entertainment Centre in Poole.
The showcase of the organisation’s work during the Second World War has been scheduled to launch on Thursday 15th of January.
Rare artwork and artifacts have been made ready for public viewing such as portraits of key RNLI figures and a compass that went to Dunkirk.
The exhibition is part of the Stories of Courage project which has been scheduled to run until the 28th of February.
The event features Make Do and Mend workshops, meet and greets with RNLI crew members and a walking tour of the RNLI’s work in Poole.
Heritage and Archive Manager at the RNLI, Hayley Whiting urged members of the local community to visit the exhibition.
“We would encourage all local people to come and visit our new free exhibition which has something for everyone,” she said.
The project’s organiser, Alison Hulme, said that the RNLI’s aim is to ensure that the work of those who helped save the lives of pilots and soldiers during the battle of Britain and the Dunkirk evacuation is remembered.
She said, “We want to commemorate what they have done, we want to inspire visitors with these stories.”
Ms Hulme explained that she hopes that the stories of the volunteers in the war will inspire the crews in the present.
“The kind of technology they have is different today but the act that they are doing is still the same as these stories that we have from the war.”
She shared the RNLI’s excitement about the impact that the project will have on the Poole community.
“[People] have been so kind sharing their stories…and this project is only possible with them, and it makes me really proud that we can do that,” she said.
The RNLI has expressed that the project aims to spread awareness about the local heroes who played a role in saving countless lives during some of the most important military operations in British history.
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