Bill Wing Munro has spent 48 years carrying out lifesaving missions for the RNLI
An award winning seafarer who has been involved in countless rescues will retire this week.
Bill ‘Wing’ Munro the coxswain for the RNLI Thurso lifeboat will hang up his cap on Thursday (26 October), having served at the station for almost 48 years.
The 65-year-old has been part of the crew of the Thurso lifeboat for 47 years, nine months and as full-time coxswain for just under 16 years. As coxswain, Wing has overseen countless rescues and been involved in some of most noteworthy rescues undertaken by Thurso Lifeboat Station’s volunteer crew, he has also received multiple awards from the institution.
One of Wing’s most memorable callouts was the September 1997 rescue of the 50 foot Aztec scallop boat which had fouled its propeller in Loch Eriboll (a sea loch west of Thurso). Whilst en route to the rescue the Thurso lifeboat, The Queen Mother, lost one of its engines but continued to the aid of the Aztec’s crew. Under Wing’s command the crew successfully reached the Aztec, in extremely rough conditions, and towed her safely back to Scrabster Harbour.
In July 2011, Munro and his volunteer crew rescued 12 tourists from the rocks of the Island of Stroma, in the Pentland Firth, after the tour boat they were travelling in became stricken.
One of Wing’s more recent rescues was to a scallop diver, in May of this year, who was described afterwards as being very lucky to be alive. The diver spent 11 hours in the water before signalling to a fishing boat and then being picked up by the Thurso RNLI Severn class lifeboat.
RNLI chief executive Paul Boissier said: “On behalf of the RNLI I would like to give a heartfelt thanks to Wing Munro for almost half a century of service to the RNLI.
“Wing’s unwavering support has seen him attend hundreds of callouts during this time, ultimately making a real difference to people’s lives. This huge amount of hard work and loyalty is both inspiring and humbling and the institution is incredibly grateful for such commitment to saving lives at sea.”
