Sunderland Volunteer Life Brigade is a charity saving lives along Sunderland's coastal region. We are a registered charity and all our crews are volunteers.

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As a volunteer maritime Search and Rescue service as well as Coastwatch, Sunderland Volunteer Life Brigade has been making Sunderland's coast a safer place for all users since 1877.

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Our small but fascinating museum traces the history of the Volunteer Life Brigade from its origin to the present day and is well worth a visit, you'll be made very welcome.

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In January one of our Coastwatch members became the second person since lockdown ended to pass her Watchkeeper's qualification. Chris Armstrong has only been a member for a few months but breezed through her training to achieve this and is now able to stand watches alone and to assist new members with their training needs. Chris has now become a full member of the Brigade.

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Chris is pictured, left, receiving her certificate from John Hunter.

The number of watches stood by our Coastwatch team during June 2022

48 watches
144 hours