THE drama-packed story of volunteer crews battling the elements to save lives at sea has enthralled tens of thousands of visitors at a Poole exhibition.

Poole Lifeboat Station's proud tales of dramatic rescues over its 150 year history is the story of the busiest coastal lifeboat station in the UK and Ireland, having launched more than 5,000 time since being founded in 1865.

It opened at Poole Museum on May 16 and since then 23,000 people have been through the museum's doors.

"We can't say they have all seen the exhibition but a good proportion of them will have," said crew member and organiser, Anne Millman.

The exhibition gathers together more than 150 artefacts and memorabilia, some of which have never been seen in public before. There are photographs of 100 faces of crewmen and women stretching back over the years, including some well known figures in the town.

Bald statistics say there have been 5,135 launches - at the time of writing - more than 4,000 people rescued and over 800 lives saved. The exhibition, which was funded by a legacy from Alan Inett, father of crew member Rob and sponsored by Morgan Sindall and Jenkins Marine, and can be seen until August 31, explores the human story.

Among the gripping exhibits are life-size models showing just how the crews own kit has evolved over the years from body belts of cork to modern self-inflating life-jackets.

The RNLI was founded in 1824. But while volunteers launched rowing boats into tempestuous seas to rescue shipwrecked sailors the brave lifesavers had no equipment designed to keep them safe.

"It was 40-years until they had a lifejacket," said crew member and exhibition organiser Chris Speers. "There were no life jackets to begin with. Cork lifebelts were introduced in 1865 and it was not compulsory to wear it at the start."

Kapok was introduced in 1904 and was three times more buoyant than cork. Sou'westers and oilskins gave way to caps then helmets with visors and drysuits. Wellie boots have remained but now have steel toecaps.

"It was a lot more dangerous then than it is now," said Chris. "The kit is compulsory now. You have to wear it on every shout."

Poole's first lifeboat station was at North Haven Point and one of many fascinating facts that came to light through their research was the time until the first call for help came.

"The first launch was on February 11 1866 and it was January 1865 when it opened as a station," said Anne. "In the first 100 years we launched an average 10 times a year. Last year we launched 121 times."

The well-documented first "shout" to a brigantine grounded on Christchurch bar in a blizzard had a tragic ending. The lifeboat was taken overland by road and heathland to Christchurch arriving 12 hours later.

"All the crew who had escaped drowning were found frozen to death," said Anne. "Except a boy tied to the mast."

The first of more than 15 Poole lifeboats was Manley Wood, a 32ft long "pulling and sailing" craft which cost £210, donated by an anonymous "Lady". It launched 10 times and its crew saved 63 lives.

In 1882 the lifeboat station moved to Fisherman's Dock on Poole Quay and there was huge excitement in the town on January 12 1939 when the first motorised lifeboat, Thomas Kirk Wright, arrived. The following year she was machine-gunned rescuing troops from Dunkirk beaches, and can now be visited at the old lifeboat station on Poole Quay.

A storyboard tells the remarkable tale of an attempt to rescue Japanese sailors from a captured German submarine grounded on Hook Sands in a southerly gale on January 8 1919. Attempts to tow it free failed and it was not until a day and a night later the 28 crew received orders to abandon ship and were taken off by the pulling and sailing lifeboat Harmar.

In 1974 the station moved to Poole Harbour Yacht Club at Salterns Marina and in 1989 to its present home on the quay by Poole Bridge. Pagers have now taken the place of maroons and the lifeboats, the all-weather Tyne Class, City of Sheffield, and B class inshore Sgt Bob Martin, launch within six to eight minutes.

While the popularity of leisure craft has contributed to the activity of the station, the area covered remains much the same - Poole Harbour and Poole Bay.

Admiring the gold and silver medals, paintings, lantern slides and videos, Poole Mayor, Cllr Ann Stribley, who is supporting Poole Lifeboat Station as one of her charities said: "It's a fabulous record of a very proud heritage. It's absolutely wonderful and it's here in Poole."

Chris said: "The museum has never had anything RNLI related before. We wanted something to celebrate our 150th anniversary. Something to tell people our story. This exhibition lets people know what we do and why we exist."