Wells RNLI had the pleasure of celebrating Ronald Quested’s birthday aged 98.
Wells RNLI had the pleasure of welcoming Ronald Quested, aged 98, and his family to the station. Ronald and his family were delighted to spend the afternoon with Wells RNLI’s crew on Ronald's birthday.
Everyone in crew room fell silent as Ronald shared stories of his time in the Merchant Navy with the crew over tea and birthday cake. He shared how he has an identical twin brother, Len Quested, who resides in Australia. They served with the sea cadets from the age of 14 to 16, where they qualified as semaphore signallers, leading seamen and A-class marksmen.
Both Ron and his brother served in World War Two as Radio Officers from the age of 17 for the Merchant Navy and volunteered as DEMS gunners. Ronald served in the Battle of the Atlantic and took war supplies to Northern Italy for the Second Front and Len served in the Arctic Convoy.
Ronald went on to marry Betty, a Red Cross Nurse. She waited for him for six years while he was at sea. They went on to have five children together.
Her name is on the number three on the port side of the ‘Duke of Edinburgh’ lifeboat and Ronald’s family have brought him to the Wells Lifeboat Station once a year as a memorial to her since its inception. This annual visit has become a special event for the family, and for the station too. Ronald brought along a wonderful book titled ‘Memories of Norfolk’ which is filled with happy memories, photographs of Wells RNLI and crew members.
Helen D'Aguiar Ron’s daughter said 'It’s always an absolute pleasure and an honour to visit the crew at the station and Dad always looks forward to this time of year knowing he will see everyone again. With Mum’s name on the port side of the Shannon we all feel near to her and this is also of huge comfort to us all.'
Jess Curtis Wells RNLI volunteer press officer said, ‘The station always looks forward to welcoming Ronald and his family. His tales of years gone by are fascinating, and the respect he has for the RNLI and our work is truly mutual. We deeply admire the incredible efforts of Ronald and his brother Len during the second world war, as well as Ronald’s voluntary contributions in the years that followed. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but to see Ronald’s face light up when he visits the station, meets the crew, and views the lifeboats, is absolutely priceless.’
Chris Hardy, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Wells RNLI, said: ‘The crew always greatly look forward to Ron’s visits to the station, his vivid recollections of his and his twin brother Len’s service in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War are captivating. His ongoing support and enthusiasm for Wells and the RNLI at 98 years old is nothing short of remarkable.’
Each of the 15,000 names on Wells RNLI’s Launch a memory lifeboat Duke of Edinburgh has its own unique story. We are lucky here at Wells RNLI to get to hear some of them. It’s such a fitting tribute to Ronald’s late wife and his Merchant Navy career.
Notes to editor If you wish to book a tour of the station https://visitrnliwells.eventbrite.co.uk/
Wells RNLI Situated at the eastern end of Wells beach, Wells Lifeboat Station is one of 238 operated by the RNLI around the UK's coast, providing emergency life-saving cover up to 50 miles offshore. The station has two lifeboats; a Shannon-class all-weather lifeboat which can operate in all conditions with a range of over 250 miles and a small, fast inshore lifeboat.
The station is a new building completed in 2022 to house the new Shannon class lifeboat, replacing the station's previous all-weather lifeboat and historic boathouse.
Wells-next-the-Sea is a commercial port and former ship-building centre and is now the only major harbour along the North Norfolk coast. It retains a small fishing fleet and has been an active base for windfarm and work vessels as well as home to a good many leisure and private boats and yachts. The town and local coastline are also a popular holiday and tourist destination and busy in summer with swimmers, windsurfers, kayakers and walkers around the harbour, beaches and marshes.
The RNLI has kept a lifeboat at Wells for over 150 years. The all-weather lifeboat is kept on a 'SLRS' (Shannon Launch and Recovery System), effectively a mobile slipway and recovery carriage with a permanently coupled tractor. If there is sufficient tide in the harbour when the lifeboat needs to launch, the lifeboat is taken down the ALB ramp into the channel. When necessary, the lifeboat can be launched and on its way in around 10 minutes.
If the tide is out, the SLRS, which is largely submersible and has four powered tank-like tracks, will take the boat and its crew to a suitable launch site on Holkham beach. This can mean a trip of up to two miles before the boat can launch, one of the longest beach launches of any UK lifeboat station and can add 20 minutes or more to the launch time.
Wells has had a D-class inshore lifeboat since the early 1960s when this immensely successful type of lifeboat was first introduced. The D-class can operate close to the shore, in shallow water and surf and right onto the beach, if necessary, as well as covering the many winding creeks within local harbours and marshes.
The D-class is ideal for rescuing people cut off by the tide, swimmers in difficulty, injured windsurfers or sailors and for locating lost children or people missing on the beach or marshes. Although described as an inshore boat, the ILB is entirely seaworthy and may launch to incidents along the coast from Brancaster to Blakeney or operate several miles offshore. It will sometimes launch alongside the all-weather lifeboat to assist in searches, to help recover persons or equipment from the water or to act as back-up or provide assistance as vessels are brought into harbour.
The ILB at Wells has traditionally been launched by its two- or three-man crew pushing the boat on its trolley into the water but with the new boathouse it is kept coupled to a Softrak launching vehicle. With the tide in, the boat can launch in a matter of minutes either in front of the boathouse using the main ramp or into the outer harbour using the smaller ILB ramp. With the tide out, the boat and crew can be towed to Holkham beach by the Softrak and launched there.
RNLI Media contacts
Jess Curtis, RNLI and Regional Engagements North and East, Lifeboat Press Officer at Wells: Tel 07483488243 Email: [email protected] contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.
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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
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