TWO brothers from Looe have been honoured with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) 20-year long service medals.

During his recent visit to RNLI Looe Lifeboat Station, the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho presented the medals to brothers Clive and Del Palfrey, whose first involvement with the charity started back in 2002.

At the time, the brothers were working as net riggers amongst the fishing community on East Looe Quay, where it became apparent to both men just how dangerous an occupation in fishing was for those involved.

Clive recalled being asked if he would like to join the lifeboat crew as the Albatross boathouse was being built for the arrival of an Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat. Del said his brother mentioned the RNLI were looking for volunteers to drive the Talus launch tractor — as he was local to the station and wanted to help the community he also volunteered.

Since then, both Clive and Del have remained staunch volunteers with the station. Today, Clive is one of the station’s senior helms and has recently taken on the role of the station’s lifeboat operations manager.

He still works in the fishing industry as a safety advisor and back in April 2018 he received the Pirate FM Cornish Coastal Rescue award for his work as the project lead in the design and implementation of the #wearitforthem life jacket project.

Del continues to drive the launch tractor, which has been upgraded over the years and now launches the larger Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat. He can also be found at the station in his head launcher or shore crew roles.

The Palfrey family’s involvement with the RNLI has passed down to the next generation with Clive’s daughter Amber volunteering as boat crew a couple of years ago.