Trevor Gibbs, who has been a crewmember at Peel for the past eight years was touched to discover his parents wanted donations to the RNLI, rather than gifts to mark their 60th wedding anniversary.

Kath and Harry Gibbs who live in Birmingham, and are both in their eighties raised £700 for the charity which saves lives at sea.

The couple married on 7 June 1952 – the same week as the Queen’s coronation – meaning their Diamond celebrations pretty much coincided.  The Gibbs had a very special reason for support the lifesaving charity. Their relationship with the charity began when Trevor became a volunteer crewmember at Peel RNLI Lifeboat Station.

Trevor, who is originally from Birmingham moved to the Isle of Man 12 years ago and joined the RNLI to give something back to the community. His parents give him their wholehearted supported and also decided to get involved by fundraising.

Trevor was overwhelmed by their decision to donate all gifts from their wedding anniversary to the charity. He says:

‘My parents have reached a point in life where they don't really need anything, so felt that the event would be better served by doing something that would have a more far reaching effect. They even donated the deposit for the hall that they hired for the party, once they got it back.

‘We had no idea they would raise £700 - not bad for a pair of octogenarian landlubbers!’