Three members of Pembroke Ladies' Lifeboat Guild have received awards from the RNLI in recognition of their contribution to fund-raising for the charity.

The badges and certificates of thanks were presented on July 10 at Angle Hall, where friends and families enjoyed an evening of celebration by courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. J. Allen-Mirehouse.

Guests were welcomed by Johnny Allen-Mirehouse, lifeboat operations manager for Angle Lifeboat Station, whose wife Rosie is the Pembroke Guild president.

He thanked everyone for coming and dwelt upon the amazing amount of money which the Guild raises each year for the RNLI (in the region of £40,000).

He welcomed surprise guests David Morgan, who held the post of RNLI director of rngineering in Poole for 12 years until his retirement in 2007, and his wife Susanna. The couple now live in Tenby and David, whose family comes from Carmarthen, is chairman of the Tenby Lifeboat Management Group and also a willing volunteer in the lifeboat station shop. Unbeknown to the recipients, he had come to present their awards on behalf of the RNLI.

The first Guild member to receive recognition was Maggie Pegg, who joined the Guild in 1998. She has held the post of assistant souvenir secretary since 2001 and is also the donation box secretary for Pembroke Dock. David Morgan mentioned that she was someone who never refused when asked to help at fundraising events and was also the producer of wonderful flower arrangements for all the Guild functions. He presented Maggie with a bronze badge.

The next recipient of an award was Viv Kerrison, vice-chairman of Pembroke Guild and also chairman of the sponsored walk committee. She joined the Guild in 1988 and had, over the years, been instrumental in recruiting many new volunteers to join the Guild. Her efforts and record of service were summed up by David Morgan remarking 'she has done everything!' as he presented her with a silver badge.

The final award of the evening was a second silver badge. This was presented to Daphne Bush, the Guild chairman and press officer, who David Morgan described as someone with boundless energy, totally committed and a force in the land. Amid laughter he said: "Others whisper her name in awe." Daphne, who joined the Guild in 1996, said a few words of thanks, paying tribute to the lifeboat service whose dedication inspired the volunteers in their fundraising efforts.

David Morgan told everyone that volunteers throughout the RNLI had raised £52 million in 2011, which he described as 'a lot of coffee mornings'.

When he moved to Tenby five years ago, he became a volunteer fundraiser himself and with his background in lifeboat design was able to tell supporters all about the service their donations helped. He felt that the crews who risked their lives should be given the safest boats and the most up-to-date equipment that could be devised and afforded.

In order to remind those present why their contribution was so valuable, and to re-motivate them in their efforts, David Morgan concluded by reading the words of Lord Saltoun from his address at the funeral of the five crew members who lost their lives in the Fraserburgh disaster of 1970. "I have never called lifeboatmen heroes. I have always felt that they are men who can appreciate the risks they run even better than I - but who strain their hearts to outstrip a comrade getting to the boat because they will not let fear be their master. Such were these men. We think of ourselves as belonging to a civilised society. Turn to the papers and see how that society behaves. One does not feel very civilised. And then one learns that a lifeboat has put out to help some vessel in distress, encountering all hazards, with no thought of reward, just because the crew are that kind of men. Do we not feel better about our civilisation? The action of these men has redeemed our society and restored our self-respect."

The award evening concluded with a presentation of flowers to each of the awardees by the Guild president, who then received a bouquet herself from the Guild secretary.