Mural of medal-winning RNLI coxswain dedicated

A dedication service has been held for a large mural at a Jersey RNLI lifeboat station.

The ceremony for the mural, which depicts former coxswain Thomas James King, was held at St Helier RNLI on Monday.

Mr King was awarded a gold medal - the organisation's highest award - in 1949 for his bravery as part of a crew that rescued a 10-tonne yacht called the Maurice Georges from a reef to the northeast of the Demie de Pas lighthouse, the RNLI said.

The charity said Mr King was chosen for the mural's design as part of celebrations for the RNLI's 200th anniversary this year.

The RNLI said Mr King's crew had just returned to St Helier late at night on 13 September 1949 after a nine-hour search for a crashed aircraft when a distress signal from the Maurice Georges was spotted.

The crew went back out and took three passengers off the boat before towing it back into port.

Along with Mr King receiving a gold medal, seven other crew members received a bronze medal for their part in the operation.

Nigel Sweeny, lifeboat operations manager for RNLI Jersey, said: "The mural is a very visible commemoration of a decorated lifeboatman and will serve to remind us of all those volunteers who have come before us."

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