“Every stranger, whom the disasters of the sea may cast on her shores, should never look for refuge in vain,” wrote the retired British militia officer, Sir William Hillary. Having witnessed numerous shipwrecks off his home town of Douglas in the Isle of Man, and seen islanders risk their lives to save others, he now had one wish: to create a nationwide lifesaving institution.
He was writing in his 1823 pamphlet, , which detailed how a lifeboat service manned by trained, volunteer crew could be run. The Admiralty showed little interest. Instead, Sir William turned to the more philanthropic members of London society. At a meeting in the City of London Tavern on 4 March 1824, over 30 prominent men agreed to form The Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck. By 1854, the name had changed to the Royal