Lifeboat Crew Honoured By The Queen

On Maundy Thursday, 19th April 2012, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll visited York Minster to distribute the Royal Maundy money.

Among those chosen to be recipients were Dennis Hodgson, a retired Police Officer and one time Press Officer of Whitby Lifeboat Station and Ronald Frampton, an ex -Lifeboatman of Whitby and a retired Fisherman.

The first recorded Royal Distribution was by King John at Knaresborough in 1210 AD. From the Fifteenth Century the number of recipients has been related to the Sovereign’s age and the symbolic gifts are in two parts. The red purse contains a nominal allowance for clothing and provisions, formerly given in kind and a payment for the redemption of the royal gown. The white purse contains, in Maundy coins, of silver pennies, twopences threepences and fourpences, as many pence as the Sovereign has years of age. The Maundy coins are legal tender and, when the United Kingdom changed to decimal currency in 1971, the face value of a set of four coins became 10 new pence.

Coxswain of Whitby Lifeboat, Mike Russell, who attended the service said, ‘It was a wonderful service and a great honour for both Dennis and Ronald. We are all very proud of them’.

Pictured from left to right, Mrs Audrey Hodgson Granddaughter Rebecca Mr Dennis Hodgson, Mrs Pat Framptom Mr Ronald Framptom & Coxswain Mike Russell.