A voluntary organisation keeping a visual watch along UK shores

TUG SKIPPERS AUCTION LATE FRIEND’S MODEL BOATS TO RAISE MONEY FOR NCI PORTLAND BILL

10th November 2016. Portland Port employees Andy Straw and Neil Roberts raised £1,500 for NCI Portland Bill when they auctioned a former Royal Maritime Auxiliary Serviceman's collection of handmade model tugboats.

The pair discovered the intricate collection when they organised a reunion to unite former employees of the Port Auxiliary Service, more recently known as the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service. Now defunct, the RMAS was a government agency which ran a variety of auxiliary vessels for the naval service before it was taken over by Serco in 2008.

Andy said: "Both our fathers worked on the small craft under the Port Auxiliary Service Ensign. We felt it would be nice if we could get them together with their old shipmates for a reunion, so we created a Facebook page to see how many we could get together. Shortly after a reunion was arranged and the gents of the PAS/RMAS Portland gathered for their first reunion in what seemed like an eternity for this close-knit bunch. Sadly, one particular brother of the group had passed away. The late Chris Webb ,who had a long standing hobby of creating scratch built model tugboats."

On hearing about the reunion, Mr Webb's widow, Marylin, donated the vast model collection to the group, who sought her permission to sell them at auction along with a selection of PAS/RMAS badges. Andy said: "We are delighted to present the NCI Portland Bill Coastwatch Station with this donation, along with our sincere thanks to Marylin Webb for kindly donating Chris’s Models and to the members of the group for their wonderful generosity."

Station manager Geoff Peters said: "On behalf of the entire Coastwatch team at Portland Bill I cannot thank Marilyn, Andy and Neil enough for making this incredible donation possible." The money will be used towards heightened security around the Portland Bill station after the charity experienced a break-in earlier in the year.

The picture shows Andy Straw, Marilyn Webb, Geoff Peters, Stan Zapiec, Eleanor Fitzgeorge-Parker, Neil Roberts (Photograph by NCI Media Support Officer Roger Sutherland).

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About

Currently almost 60 National Coastwatch stations are operational and manned by over 2600 volunteer watchkeepers around the British Isles from Fleetwood in the North West, through Wales, to the South and East of England to Filey in North Yorkshire. 

National Coastwatch watchkeepers provide the eyes and ears along the coast, monitoring radio channels and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. They are trained to deal with emergencies offering a variety of skills and experience, and full training by the National Coastwatch ensures that high standards are met.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The words National Coastwatch Institution and Eyes Along the Coast and the NCI logos are Registered Trademarks of NCI.

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