AN exhibition called Hope in the Great War comes to Poole’s RNLI Lifeboat College this week.

The free event features a collection of original artworks illustrating six stories about RNLI volunteers during the First World War.

RNLI Poole operations director George Rawlinson said: “We are honoured and privileged to welcome the Hope in the Great War exhibition to headquarters and look forward to inviting staff, volunteers and visitors alike to discover the RNLI’s inspirational history during WW1.

“While technology and capability may have changed over the years, we are reminded that the timeless courage shown by those who are committed to saving lives at sea is as much alive today as it was during the Great War.”

Hope in the Great War, which has toured RNLI lifeboat stations and other UK museums during the past four years, also includes animation, a podcast and an intricate story quilt.

The six main tales of heroism include the saving of 20 lives from the tanker Ponus, November 1916, by Falmouth RNLI lifeboat crew.

Whitby RNLI lifeboat crew’s rescue of 144 people from the wrecked hospital ship HMHS Rohilla in 1914, also features. As does the daring rescue of 23 SS Alondra survivors, after the ship was wrecked on Kedge Rock, off Baltimore, Cork.

The exhibition was made possible following an Arts Council England grant of £78,000, awarded to the RNLI in order to share more widely the role of the charity’s volunteers.

It will be open at Poole’s RNLI Lifeboat College from May 3 until May 25.