Our every need was catered for. The Sherborne branch of the RNLI laid on a coach to transport the majority of the choir (some preferred to drive) and accommodation at the Sherborne International school where we were not only very comfortably housed but also very well fed.

The choir were determined to put on an excellent performance and so before our evening meal we made our way to the concert venue, The Merritt Centre in Sherborne Girls School for a sound check. This magnificent concert hall has lovely acoustics which were made good use of.

After a highly enjoyable meal, we returned to the venue where we were officially welcomed by branch Chairman Col. Chris Copeland. 

Our first set of four songs was followed by recollections of the Solomon Browne lifeboat and the circumstances of her loss from former Chairman of the choir Jon Pender. Jon told us how on 19th December 1981 the Solomon Browne was called to the aid of the new vessel Union Star which had 8 souls on board comprising Captain, his wife and two daughters plus four other crew. Amidst hurricane force winds and 50 foot waves, four people had been transferred to the lifeboat when suddenly all communications ceased. The lifeboat and Union Star were both lost with all hands. 

The disaster had a huge impact, not only on the village and surrounding area but was also felt around the world and it was decided that the proceeds from the biennial concert of the Federation of Welsh Male Voice Choirs at the Colston Hall in Bristol in February 1982 would be donated to the RNLI and an invitation was extended to Mousehole MVC to send representatives to attend the event.

 Out of a choir which then numbered under 50, 36 went and received an enthusiastic but respectful reception. They sang “Sunset and Evening Star” which had previously been sung at the memorial service for the lost lifeboat crew. Nine of the 36 are still in the choir and all nine were present in Sherborne where the same song was next on the programme.

After the address from Jon, the whole audience sang the hymn “Eternal Father, Strong To Save” followed by four more pieces from the choir.

The first half concluded with three pieces from Phillipa Hardy, a former Cambridge Choral Scholar.

The second half commenced with a raffle before MMVC returned to the stage for four more pieces after which we heard from the choir’s Vice Chairman Colin Lawry about the present day Penlee Lifeboat Station where he is a volunteer.

Colin told us of the huge costs involved in keeping just one lifeboat station in business. First, the boat itself: A new Severn class boat costs a whopping 2.7 Million pounds. The crew being mostly volunteers must number much higher than the crew of 7 who will take the boat out, in order to ensure sufficient availability every time and Penlee has 30 trained crew available. Each crew member needs around £2.5K of personal equipment and on average £1,400 in training costs. Then there is fuel: The fuel capacity of the boat is 5,600 litres of diesel which is something to think about next time you wince at the cost of 30 litres at the filling station! These are just some of the costs of operating one lifeboat and Penlee has an inshore boat to provide for too. Colin also reminded us of the dangers faced by the crew on every trip. We heard earlier about the disaster of 1981, by no means an isolated event in the history of the RNLI but accidents still happen. One crew member received a serious back injury only recently during a bad weather “shout”. Clearly the courage of these volunteers cannot be emphasised enough.

After Colin’s talk we sang “Home, Home From the Sea” which tells the story of a lifeboat rescue before a speech of thanks and acknowledgements from Col. Copeland.

We completed the performance with three more songs: “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”, “Thanks Be To God” and “We Rise Again”, all very appropriate titles for this memorable concert.

Our thanks go to RNLI Sherborne and in particular to Events Coordinator Bridget Fairlie who spent countless hours planning the event, Merritt Centre, Sherborne International School, Choir Secretary Tim James who was on the other end of many of Bridget’s calls, MD Stephen Lawry, accompanist for the event David Ce

Ceredig-Evans, assistant MD David Williams and to all who played vital roles in arranging and managing the trip.

The nine remaining members who made the trip to Colston Hall in 1982.