A VOLUNTEER for the RNLI will be hanging up his lifejacket for the last time next month as he retires from the role after almost four decades.

Martin Steeden, a volunteer coxswain for Swanage Lifeboat Station, will be handing over when the new Shannon class lifeboat goes on operational service towards the end of April. His final duty will be to take the Mersey class lifeboat back to RNLI HQ in Poole. Dave Turnbull, RNLI mechanic at Swanage lifeboat station, will take over his role.

Martin, who joined Swanage RNLI in 1977, said he had mixed emotions about leaving the role but felt it was “the right thing to do”.

He said: “I am very proud and feel very privileged to be a part of the overall history of Swanage RNLI. There are RNLI coxswains around the coast, and I’m so proud to have been able to be in this unique position and part of RNLI history.”

The lifeboat station’s new Shannon class lifeboat George Thomas Lacy arrives in the town at midday on Friday, April 8. Martin will be part of this momentous day for the station when he helms the current Mersey class lifeboat Robert Charles Brown, which, with the D class lifeboat Phyl and Jack, will lead the new lifeboat into the bay for the first time.

Martin continued: “A lot has changed in my time on the lifeboat and during my time as coxswain, and I know this is the right time for me to move on. With the arrival of the Shannon and the new lifeboat station, it’s fitting that there should be a new generation of coxswains and crew who will take their turn as part of the station’s history.

“I have very much enjoyed my time as coxswain – we’ve got a good crew at Swanage, and there is a good feeling among the volunteers who do it because they want to.

“I am really proud that this is a legacy that I will leave behind, and I am delighted that there is such talent and passion that the handover will be seamless.”

Martin’s legacy will live on at the station in his two sons, Matt and Gavin, who are both volunteer crew, with Gavin an assistant coxswain.

Martin was also fundamental in establishing Swanage Lifeboat Week – a fixed date in the community’s calendar. He still plans to be very much a part of the event.