A COUPLE who have raised £78,000 for the lifeboats in the past 25 years have decided to take a back seat in the charity.
Ken and Miriam Harrison raised thousands of pounds for the Maldon and District branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), selling toys and stationery items.
Mr Harrison, 79, of Hatfield Peverel, said: "I've always enjoyed sailing and the sea. Every year around Christmas down at Maldon they have a sponsored row in aid of the RNLI – in the first year I managed to capsize the boat twice!"
Talking about why the couple joined the RNLI branch, Mr Harrison said: "I took part in a couple of sponsored events and I then decided to go one step further. I lived too far away to be crew – you have to live 10 minutes away."
Having previously worked in the plywood trade as a supplier, Mr Harrison joined the Maldon branch in 1987. He began selling toys, stationery, model boats and tea bags, and in 2009, he was given a Gold Badge award for his long service.
Miriam, 79, said she would miss "all the friendships we have made", adding: "I had a lot of fun with the lifeboat crew – we went out on quite a few boats.
"The best was at Harwich – we used to arrange for people to go out with them and they really tried to make it special."
Mr Harrison has fun memories of their time as collectors, from standing outside, whatever the conditions, around 20 times a year. He recounted one occasion when the fundraisers had to evacuate Maldon pier during torrential rain – a homage to the conditions that crews often face.
Despite becoming acclimatised to manning his fundraising stand, when Mr Harrison had the opportunity to take the controls of a lifeboat, he couldn't resist.
"The ride-out in the life boat was wonderful – we were doing about 27 knots outside of Harwich," he said.
"It was a wonderful experience – it only lasted about 10 minutes but it was something you don't forget."
Mr Harrison was constantly surprised by the people that he met while doing his fundraising – what he described as 'the easy job'.
The 79-year-old, who stepped down from his role as Souvenir Secretary in the branch in April this year, said: "A taxi driver once said he would put into my box exactly the same as I gave him.
"He gave me £5 – I said that's not fair as I only had 50p or so."
Mr Harrison said he often heard other people's tales of lifeboat rescues, while he made his door-to-door collections.
On one occasion he spoke to a man who had been on an exercise in the Thames while he was in the Navy during the Second World War.
The Navy crew saw a boat in need of assistance, and a crew from Southend lifeboat branch came to the rescue.
Despite the many sad events crews deal with, he said they are "always cheerful".
Mr Harrison was proud of his achievements. He said: "I am satisfied that I have contributed in the RNLI's running and with what I've managed to achieve."
He now only does the occasional fundraiser – and hopes to spend more time concentrating on his nine grandchildren and his hobbies of model railways, photography and gardening.
