A volunteer crew member from Sennen Cove who has dedicated almost 50 years to the RNLI has finally hung up his lifejacket for the last time.

Philip Shannon MBE is one of the charity’s longest serving volunteer crewmembers and has served on five classes of lifeboats over almost as many decades.

It was the end of an era when crew, former crew and friends of Sennen Cove RNLI gathered at the Old Success at a surprise party on December 13 to mark Philip’s retirement from the volunteer crew.

Philip joined the crew in 1967 at 17, when the station lifeboat was the Susan Ashley, and during his long career Philip has served on no less than five different classes of lifeboat. He has taken part in hundreds of services from the Cove in all conditions.  During those years, the lives of 150 people were saved.

In 1999 Philip became second coxswain, and is proud of the fact that the family tradition continues. His elder son Dan joined the crew in 1993 later becoming deputy second coxswain and now, on Phil's retirement, second coxswain. His younger son Jack has also been a crew member since 2003.

Lifeboats have been a part of Philip's life, even from being a small child, hearing the maroon go off and running down to the boathouse to watch the lifeboat launch.  He has always been very conscious of how disruptive being a lifeboat man can be to family life.

He said: "I would like to thank my wife Lynn and my family for all their support down the years, and everyone for their understanding in allowing me to be a lifeboatman."

RNLI operations director George Rawlinson and his predecessor Michael Vlasto, along with other colleagues from RNLI HQ, came to celebrate with Philip on the evening in order to present him with a long service certificate. Such is Philip's reputation that retired colleagues from his past and lifeboatmen from flank stations gathered to pay tribute to him.

Highlights among Philip's memories would include the Silver Medal services to the Union Crystal in 1977 and the Tungufoss in 1981, with the low point being the loss of friends and colleagues at Penlee. Philip was in the crew of the relief lifeboat Vincent Nesfield on the night of 19 December 1981 when the Penlee lifeboat, Solomon Browne, was lost with all her crew, in an effort to save those on board the Union Star. The Sennen Cove boat struggled in vain to get round Land's End in impossible conditions.

The award of an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2010 was a recognition of Phil's long and outstanding service to the RNLI at Sennen Cove.

48 years of dedication to lifesaving in the lifeboat service is a rarity, and in today's world is unlikely to be repeated.  The crew and all those associated with Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station said they were proud to have been able to serve during at least part of Philip's long service.

Tom Mansell, RNLI regional operations manager, has worked with Philip for many years, and said: "Philip is the personification of the RNLI spirit - selfless, dependable, trustworthy and courageous.  So many of our volunteer crew and members of the public have benefitted from Philip’s experience, be that through training he has passed on to our crews or by his actions at sea to rescue people in trouble.  The crew at Sennen Cove will miss Philip but he has helped to ensure that they will be able to continue this vital work. We will all miss him but we thank him for his great contribution to lifesaving and wish him well in the future."