Some of you will be aware that the TVLB was the Charity that we supported at our NMBF Social Evening earlier this year in April. This was our traditional Curry and Wine Evening at Wallsend Masonic Hall where, despite numbers being a little lower than usual, we raised and were able to make a donation of £450 to the TVLB. During the evening Allan Graham, the representative from the Brigade, spoke of the huge impact a second rescue vehicle would have on their services and that they were in the process of fundraising with the aim of eventually purchasing one. They were, however, aware that because of the cost, this would take several years to achieve with a hoped-for date of 2030. The idea of supporting the Brigade was then brought up and discussed at a Mark Executive Meeting and it was decided that this was a very valuable and potentially life-saving service and worthy of an application to the Mark Benevolent Fund. This was accordingly done, as I have said, was successful, with the full sum needed for the purchase of the vehicle being awarded.

The vehicle will be housed to the north of the Whitley Bay area and used to transport their Urban Flood Raft and other water rescue equipment on its dedicated trailer. The vehicle will also be added to the National Flood Asset Register and will provide the following benefits:

1. Faster response times to the areas of the coastline where water rescue is most common e.g. St Mary’s Island, Whitley Bay Beach and Seaton Sluice.
2. Allow the vehicle, trailer, urban flood craft and water rescue equipment to be tasked to a national incident without requiring other Coastguard assets, particularly those at Blyth and South Shields, being stretched to cover the coastline currently serviced by the TVLB.
3. Provide constant cover while the current vehicle is being used for educational trips, training or repairs.

Here is the response of Cllr Lewis Bartoli, the Fundraising Coordinator for the TVLB on being informed of the grant:

‘On behalf of the directors, rescue team, friends of, volunteers and myself please let me express our gratitude and appreciation of your incredibly generous grant. Let me assure you and all those involved in this decision that the new vehicle will make a real difference to the capabilities of the brigade and will save lives and improve outcomes for those in difficulty and distress across the North East’.

There have been a number of very grateful phone calls from the TVLB thanking us for the generous grant and expressing with some excitement what the grant meant to them.

I think that we can be assured that this grant will make a huge difference to the effectiveness of the TVLB and will almost certainly save lives.

Many grateful thanks go to the Trustees of the Mark Benevolent Fund for approving this amazingly generous grant and also to all of our members who contribute so generously to the Fund.

Without all of your support, grants such as this would not be possible.

Another wonderful example of the Magic of the Mark.