Wild weather and forbidding seas aren’t the only challenges the RNLI has faced – Dr Sam Jones reveals how the charity we know today came about

As with so many good beginnings, it all started in a pub. On 4 March, 1824, Sir William Hillary met Thomas Wilson in Bishopsgate’s London Tavern to establish the National Institution for the Preservation of Lives and Property from Shipwreck. But after an auspicious start, the charity we know today as the RNLI hit choppier waters.

RNLI Tobermory’s Dr Sam Jones – who very sadly passed away in our anniversary year – reveals the organisation’s evolution. And explains why, 200 years from now, future historians will recognise the same volunteer ethos at the Institution's heart.

200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI  

Interview by Adventurous Audio 

Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls  

The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200