A LIFEBOAT stalwart responsible for creating the RNLI’s pioneering Flood Rescue Team has received his MBE at Windsor Castle.

Captain Hugh Fogarty, who joined the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1984, was presented his Member of the Order of the British Empire by The Queen.

Hugh, from Poole, said: “It is a great honour to receive this award and I dedicate it to all those true volunteers in the RNLI who made my job enjoyable as well as successful. May they always have a safe return.”

Aside from creating the specialist Flood Rescue Team, which has seen many lives saved since its inception in 2000, Hugh was also responsible for testing RNLI lifeboats in treacherous sea conditions.

The experienced mariner would often test the RNLI craft beyond their capabilities to ensure they were as safe as possible.

Members of the volunteer Flood Rescue Team were part of the emergency response to rising water levels in Christchurch and Wimborne in 2012.

Indeed, that same year the team was deployed a dozen times and was credited with rescuing 81 people and saving six lives.

It was also in 2012 that the first medal for bravery was awarded to three members of the Flood Rescue Team for their part in the daring rescue of a woman clinging to a tree in a swollen river in Devon.

Hugh, who held the RNLI post of head of operations from February 2013-July 2014, trialled lifeboats in all manner of sea conditions.

Describing Hugh as a man of genuine humanity who cares deeply for his professional colleagues, RNLI chief executive Paul Boissier added: “It is a huge responsibility – ensuring that lifeboats are robust enough to withstand all that nature can throw at them.

“Hugh is held in the highest regard by the many thousands of volunteers who crew our lifeboats across the country. In the words of a well-known crew member ‘if the boat is good enough for Hugh, it is good enough for me’.

“Hugh has made a huge difference to the future direction of the RNLI. I am delighted he has been recognised with an MBE.”

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