A legend in his own lifetime..

.. the Cornish sun is shining this afternoon as we celebrate the life of Matt Lethbridge, much decorated Lifeboatman from the Isles of Scilly, who died on Tuesday, aged 86.

He was one of a kind, a generous, humble man who lived a wonderful life. I have many fond memories of time spent with him & Pat on the Scillies when my two eldest were still young. Matt took us on a tour of the islands, told us tales of wreck and rescue at the Western Rocks and met us after in the pub at St Agnes, but was just as happy feeding seagulls with my kids on Porthcressa beach in the morning. 

He and my step-dad Phil talked fish and boats, while Mum & Pat played the supporting roles so perfectly, smiling and 'working them from behind'...Matt and Phil were lifeboatmen in the days when technology was in its infancy and if you needed help at sea then it was these people you knew would be there, they relied on true seamanship and what you learnt from growing up on the shores of the Atlantic where you knew the rocks like the back of your hand.

A great life, a priviledge to have known him, long to be remembered..x

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7944869/Matt-Lethbridge.html