New exhibition in Redcar celebrates 200 years of RNLI

There is a deep, historic bond between the people of Redcar and the RNLI, with the world’s oldest surviving lifeboat, The Zetland, built in 1802, proudly on display in the town.

This year the RNLI is marking its 200th anniversary, and as part of the celebrations, photographer Michael Sreenan, from Redcar, has created a special exhibition telling stories of volunteers, past and present, from the town.

Let Not the Deep Swallow Me Up explores why RNLI volunteers risk their own safety, and examines the deep-rooted sense of duty and compassion that compels them to save lives at sea.

Michael, Portrait of Britain winner in 2023, aims to evoke a sense of connection and storytelling through his work. “I set out with the aim of finding out what drives these volunteers to do these incredible things," he says. "To leave their families, sometimes in the dead of night to risk their lives for others and they do it like it’s nothing. I wanted to find out just who these people were and what drives them.

“As the project went on, it changed a bit as I discovered how deep the bond is between the RNLI and our community here. There are people who might have even forgotten they do have that connection but when they talk they’ll have a story. It could be about when a ship came ashore in the 90s and they helped, or someone told me how their family had horses in Marske which would be used for the lifeboat. I want people to discover this history once again.”

Councillor Carrie Richardson, Cabinet member for culture at Redcar and Cleveland Council, describes it as a "brilliant and important exhibition" and is urging people to go along. She adds: "The whole country is rightly proud of the RNLI, but no-one can be prouder than the people of Redcar and Cleveland where we have such a bond."

The exhibition has been supported by Carmen Marcus, whose family, the Thompsons, have been involved on lifeboats since even before the formation of the RNLI. They can trace their history back to The Zetland, and even the family of Captain Cook.

Carmen, a writer who is researching stories of the sea from the local area as part of a PhD at Teesside University, tells tales of rescuing souls at sea.

“One morning – early – my dad, a fisherman who served on lifeboats and would get up to check the sea at 6am every day long, long past retirement, took me and my sister to the sea edge. We were little girls. He looked at us hard and said, ‘that’s where the law of the land ends and the law of the sea begins… respect the sea, fear the sea'. It was like having a dragon living at the end of the road.”

That message from a loving father, Mark Thompson, was the result of accumulated family knowledge going back hundreds of years. The Thompsons – who can trace lineage to the family of Captain Cook – have served on lifeboats of the Tees since The Zetland first set sail from Redcar in 1802 – when the crew was summoned by drum on rain-lashed, windy nights.

Carmen is supporting the exhibition at Kirkleatham Museum, and will be involved in further exhibitions and workshops in both schools and the wider community in the coming months with illustrator, Kat Lynas through a sister project, The Call Out.

“These stories and our community’s deep connection with the sea and saving lives at sea are so valuable and must not be lost,” says Carmen. “It’s a bond we still have, a living history.

“My cousin, Rodney, is still a pilot cutter on the Teesmouth Lifeboat and made his first rescue when he was just 11 on his own little boat. We were at Kirkleatham Museum not long ago, visiting the James Knott, the lifeboat he served on, when he noticed the rope was tied wrongly. He lent through – giving the curator a heart attack – to put it right. He had to do it. A lifeboatman would never, ever leave a boat not ready to sail at a moment’s notice. No matter what has happened, a lifeboat on return is left perfect, ready to go again. Even if she's on land.”

Carmen tells more stories of her family and the community of South Terrace where so many Redcar fisherfolk lived (and the first telephone was thought to be installed, at number six, to help raise the lifeboat crew, more than 100 years after those drums first beat the alarm). How her Uncle Jim felt compelled to look out to sea very early on New Year’s Eve, 1972, and saw a flare – a boat in severe distress. He and friends rescued a friend, Tony Young and another fisherman, on the Daisy Ellen, a boat named after Jim and Mark’s mother. More than 20 years later Tony Young found that boat in a breaker’s yard. This time he came to the rescue and bought and restored the boat and she can be found back in Fisherman Square today.

There’s the stories of the big rescues, The Rohilla, HMS Walrus, many others. All with souls saved by the lifeboatmen and women.

This exhibition and the activities that will take place are just the beginning of a lifelong ambition to share the many stories of Redcar's rich sea stories, past and present. “I have a letter from my dad which he wrote to me before he died, talking about a lot of things,” says Carmen. ‘I want you to know the women played their part,’ he says, explaining how important they were to the story too and this is a critical part of the story Carmen wants to share through her work with illustrator Kat Lynas through her writing, and the school and public workshops.

“The kinship was – and is – incredible. Brave and warm-hearted people. We must never forget them and must tell their stories.”

Let Not the Deep Swallow Me Up is free to enter and opened last Friday, May 10. It will run throughout this summer at Kirkleatham Museum.