A LONG-SERVING RNLI volunteer has been presented with a British Empire Medal for his services to the lifeboat charity.

For nearly 30 years, Barry Cox, 84, from Poole, has worked hard in the heritage library and archive, ensuring 190 years of unique historical records have been preserved for the charity.

Without this work, much of the collection would not have survived.

Angus Campbell, the HM Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, presented Barry with his award on Thursday (OCT 13).

“Here is a man who has done extraordinary work. At a time when records were in danger of being lost, he has saved for the country the history of this amazing charity,” he said.

“It enables the stories of the men and women who have carried out rescues to be preserved, and I am delighted to present this medal to Barry.”

Barry’s service to the RNLI began in 1986 when he was seconded from NatWest bank to help create an RNLI library and archive. Despite having no professional training, he is a keen bibliophile and is fascinated by history.

He took on the task of sorting hundreds of boxes of artefacts, documents and files, which had accumulated over the years, and now cares for the historical material in the library.

He is considered a leading expert on RNLI history and the contents of the archive and library and is affectionately known as ‘Uncle Barry’ - the go-to man for any difficult questions, having answered thousands of enquiries, internal and external, and supported the research for countless books written to support the RNLI.

Barry, who has himself written and published two RNLI books, Lifeboat Gallantry and A Lifeboat Year, said on receiving his award: “I was very surprised and honoured, it feels incredible and I never imagined anything like this happening to me.

“I am the first member of my family to be mentioned in the honours list and I appreciate the recognition of my 29 years of involvement with the RNLI and its archives.”

Due to Barry’s dedication and hard work in producing a professional archive, the early records of the RNLI have recently been recognised as being of national importance by UNESCO.

His passion and enthusiasm has enthused other volunteers to join him, which is gratefully received at a time when enquiries continue to grow, the RNLI said.