ON Thursday, February 12, Doreen Mortimer MBE hosted a party for all RNLI shop volunteers at Tudor Mount Gastrobar, Tenby to celebrate her MBE and her 30 years volunteering for the RNLI.

Doreen, a volunteer RNLI shop manager in Tenby, was amongst six RNLI volunteers to be recognised by His Majesty The King for their incredible contribution as the charity approached its 200th anniversary on March 4, 2024.

She received her MBE in the summer of 2024 in a ceremony at County Hall, Haverfordwest, alongside other local honours recipients, including a 13-year-old Elly Neville BEM, whose father’s own cancer battle had inspired her to become the face of the Ward 10 Flag Appeal which went on to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Withybush Hospital’s Ward 10.

In 2022, Jayne George, head of Fundraising for the RNLI in the UK, presented Doreen with an Excellence in Volunteering Award, noting that only months after reopening since the Covid lockdowns, takings had topped £100,000: “Although Doreen has a team of volunteers backing her up, she is driving force that keeps sales rising, and whenever the fund-raising committee holds an event, she is there with her bucket.”

In 2023 Doreen was honoured by the RNLI for her long years of service, during which time she had managed to make Tenby the ‘number one’ shop in Wales.

Doreen’s tireless devotion to the RNLI’s cause has seen her volunteering for up to 50 hours a week during peak periods. Now in her 90s, she has helped raise more than £1m for the lifesaving charity.