The new 13m Shannon class lifeboat Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood was formally named on Sunday 22 March 2015 at her Hoylake station in bright spring sunshine, with a crowd of more than 300 RNLI volunteers, supporters and guests in attendance. The new lifeboat was funded in part through a generous legacy left by Paulette Micklewood, from Oxford, and was named after her grandfather, with local fundraising also helping to pay for the vessel. The £1.5 million Supacat Launch and Recovery rig, which is essential in getting the new lifeboat afloat, was also funded by a legacy, from local man Roland Hough.
The lifeboat was named by a friend of Miss Micklewood, Geoffrey Ford Hawker, while Mr Hough’s cousin, Mrs Susan Reed, named the launch and recovery system. Commodore David Squire, RNLI Trustee, formally accepted the lifeboat and launch vehicle. The event coincided with high water, so that when the boat was launched she could show off her abilities to the assembled crowd, as launching often takes place about a mile away across the huge expanse of beach over which the lifeboat has to be taken.
