From being winched onto a French fishing trawler in heavy seas to ensuring lifeboat crews are medically fit to launch at a moment’s notice, a Cornish doctor’s contribution to maritime safety has now been recognised with a British Empire Medal.
Dr Christopher Cuff is among those recognised nationally and locally in this year’s New Year’s Honours List.
Dr Cuff joined the RNLI in 1990 as medical advisor to The Lizard Lifeboat Station, while also serving the local community as a GP in Mullion from 1986 until 2010.
He followed in the footsteps of his father, Dr Peter Cuff, who served as a doctor in Mullion, Cadgwith, Ruan Minor and The Lizard during the 1970s and 1980s and died in 2020.
More details about Dr Peter Cuff’s life can be found here: Much-loved family GP dies aged 93
For more than 35 years, Dr Cuff has played a vital role in ensuring the medical fitness and preparedness of lifeboat crews, offering expert guidance on casualty care, leading medical exercises and providing invaluable pastoral support.
His commitment goes beyond routine duties. Dr Cuff developed and expanded both classroom-based and afloat medical training exercises, often involving trainee GPs, to strengthen pre-hospital and primary clinical care skills for lifeboat crews and medical professionals alike.
In 2022, he organised a major joint exercise involving the Lizard lifeboat crew and 30 doctors from the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust, focusing on the impact of human factors and clinical skills on casualty care in challenging maritime environments.
From 2007 to 2024, Dr Cuff also served as RNLI regional medical advisor for the South West, supporting 33 lifeboat stations. In this role, he has helped shape RNLI medical policy and represented the region on the RNLI Medical Committee, serving as deputy chair.
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Reacting to the honour, Dr Cuff told The Packet: “I am truly honoured and humbled by the award, and it came out of the blue.
“I could not have achieved this without the support of my family and all those, past and present, who volunteer and give of themselves at The Lizard Lifeboat Station. It is truly a huge team effort to ensure our lifeboat is always ready to launch to ‘save lives at sea’.”
He also recalled one particularly memorable rescue from earlier in his RNLI service, when he was called out aboard the station’s previous lifeboat under the command of Coxswain Phil Burgess.
The incident involved a casualty on a French fishing vessel, requiring Dr Cuff to be winched from a helicopter onto the deck of the trawler.
“As I was dangling on the end of the line, my main concern was that my wellies would fall off into the sea,” Dr Cuff said. “I landed safely, and we took the casualty by helicopter to Treliske for further care.”
The adventure ended with a lighter moment when his family collected him from RNAS Culdrose in Helston. “Their only comment was, ‘Daddy, you smell of fish,’” he added.
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