Cathryn Lewin, the fifth great-granddaughter of RNLI founder, Sir William Hillary, has made the long trip from Australia to trace her family roots on the Isle of Man. RNLI volunteers at Douglas who crew the lifeboat which is named Sir William Hillary in memory of the Institution’s founder were delighted to welcome Cathryn to the island.

The visit was planned after Douglas RNLI Lifeboat Station received an online enquiry from Cathryn’s father, Alan Richard-Preston, asking for information about Sir William. This culminated in a brief visit to the Isle of Man by Cathryn, and her husband Daniel, who are taking a belated honeymoon in the UK.

The tour included Sir William’s former home, the Fort Anne, albeit now rebuilt, where Cains Advocates, regular supporters of Douglas RNLI, very kindly provided refreshments in the main boardroom which is named after Sir William. The opportunity was taken while there to present Cains with the brass lifeboat which used to feature outside Hillary House on Finch Road for display in the boardroom.

After the Fort Anne it was a short journey down to Douglas Lifeboat Station itself where Cathryn and Daniel were met by other Douglas RNLI committee members and crew. They were given a tour of the station, and shown around the Tyne class all-weather lifeboat Sir William Hillary by station mechanic Tony Radcliffe.

Cathryn very kindly signed the visitors’ book before leaving to continue their tour of the island with the intention of also visiting Peel RNLI Lifeboat Station, home of the Mersey class all-weather lifeboat Ruby Clery named after a great-great granddaughter of Sir William.

After witnessing the destruction of dozens of ships from his home on the Isle of Man and getting involved in rescue attempts himself, Hillary saw the need for a national rescue service, Hillary appealed to the Navy, the government and other ‘eminent characters’ for help in forming ‘a national institution for the preservation of lives and property from shipwreck’.

By 1808 he moved to the Isle of Man. One of the earliest independent pre-RNLI lifeboat stations had been established at Douglas, and Hillary participated in a number of dramatic rescues. The Institution was founded as a charity on 4 March 1824. Hillary died at Woodville, Douglas on the Isle of Man on 5 January 1847