Freemason Keith Bower is a past member and gold medal holder of the RNLI and is a member of True Love and Unity Lodge meeting in Brixham.
Here is Keith’s account of the day.
The service was excellent and attended by over 2,000 people.
Yes it was a superb day where I met some old friends and made some new ones. It was quite emotional for me for obvious reasons but everyone gave of their best to make it truly memorable. As you can see from the video which can be found on the RNLI Website the Duke of Kent had a few words – told me that my Medal was very scarce and congratulated me! I am afraid that the Duke is looking a bit fragile these days.
The whole service was timed to the second, we were asked to arrive at 1800 on the Sunday when we rehearsed what everyone had to do, scroll carriers, readers and our group. The steward looking after us said “when the choir started singing the anthem which we were to walk by you must wait 55 seconds before you start walking”. The next day after arriving at 0830 for an 1100 service and before it started he said l “sorry I made a mistake, is not 55 seconds it’s 52! but don’t worry I will be close by to give you the nod . What he didn’t say was that we would be formed up for about 10 minutes before hand. The replica memorial I was carrying started to weigh a bit heavy and of course I couldn’t put it down – it weighed about 15lbs as it was made of marble – my arms were breaking and actually started to shake. I was glad to be given the off.
I was very impressed with the address the Archbishop of Canterbury gave, it was most appropriate and well thought out, I expect someone else guided him.
I gave an interview and had several pictures taken before we were permitted to go into the Abbey at 1000. In fact I gave an interview to a newspaper reporter this afternoon and am due to give an interview on Radio Devon in the morning on the Breakfast show.
This of course is because of the 200 years the RNLI has been in existence.
All in all it was an honour to have taken part and I must say that I found it a great privilege to do so.
W. Bro Keith Bower