A coastguard and RNLI crew member has been recognised for more than 50 years’ service to saving lives at sea.

Past and present members of the RNLI crew and HM Coastguard in Lyme Regis, friends and family came together at Lyme Regis Golf Club to celebrate the service and commitment to Graham Turner.

It all started with a canoe trip when Mr Turner, aged 12, ventured out of Lyme Regis with a friend but the canoe tipped over and his friend could not swim. He swam ashore and shouted for help and went back out in an RAF launch with Dusty Miller, Geordie Thirwell and one other.

He joined the RNLI lifeboat crew in December 1968, invited by helm Albert Hodder.

As an 18-year-old, Mr Turner saw the lifeboat called out to a catamaran, but the boat tipped over and one of the crew members, ‘Nimmer’ Jefford, died. Mr Turner went in and got the other crew member, John Chase, out of the water and received a bronze lifesaving medal for this rescue.

One of his most memorable rescues involved a yacht called ‘White Kitten’ with four people on board near Seaton. John Hodder was at the helm in a force 10 and the yacht was successfully brought back to Lyme. The lifeboat crew - John Hodder, Paul Wason, Colin Jones and Mr Turner - all received a bronze medal.

That led to an invite to Buckingham Palace for a garden party to be awarded the RNLI Ralph Glister award in recognition of the most memorable rescue of the year for an Atlantic 21 class lifeboat crew.

Mr Turner joined HM Coastguard in 1998 and later became the station officer, a role he carried out for 18 years, as the ‘officer in charge’ for more than 1,000 call outs, he was often the ‘unsung’ hero. In the earlier years, he did receive a letter of commendation from the chief coastguard for rescuing two boys stuck in the mud, east of Charmouth.

Mr Turner was presented with a Good Conduct and Long Service Medal, specially minted by the Royal Mint together with Valedictory Certificate.

Peter Pritchard, who originally invited him to join the coastguard and was area commander for the south west, made the well-deserved presentation.