A woman from Porthcawl who’s gone above and beyond to save lives at sea has shared what the responsibilities are really like as an RNLI volunteer in Wales, and the kinds of incidents she has had to face. Aileen Jones, 59, has been a part of the force in Porthcawl for almost 30 years, and has even received an MBE for her outstanding work.
In 2016, she was given the medal for her services to the charity in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. And before that, in 2004, she became the first woman in 116 years to receive an RNLI bravery award, after she rescued two fishermen in gale force winds and gigantic waves in Porthcawl.
Aileen said: “Two men were out fishing at the time, and the engine on their boat had failed and the anchors wouldn’t hold. We just had to go out and rescue them from the sand bank and safely back to shore.
