A DOUBLE celebration this weekend will allow RNLI volunteers and patrons of the Aberdyfi branch to thank donors who have helped keep the vital charity afloat.

Aberdyfi RNLI is preparing for a busy period as they hold a service of celebration to name their Atlantic 85 class lifeboat as well as the rededication of the RNLI boathouse.

The rededication of Aberdyfi boathouse and the naming ceremony will take place this Saturday, at 2pm.

The Atlantic 85 lifeboat Hugh Miles arrived in Aberdyfi at the end of November 2016 and was welcomed by a week of winter sunshine as the crew familiarised themselves with the new lifeboat.

Hugh Miles was the only son of the late Herbert and Joan Miles. Hugh’s pleasure in life was watching lifeboat launches and crew training at various lifeboat stations across south Wales.

After Hugh’s death his mother, Joan, kindly left her estate to the RNLI with the request that part of her bequest was to be used to fund a B-class lifeboat to be stationed on the Welsh coast.

An equal part of the day’s celebration will be the rededication of the boathouse after recent modification to the building. The modifications included an extension to the building which has helped provide better training facilities for the volunteers.

The modification for the boathouse was funded by the Derek and Jean Dodd Trust as well as a legacy left to the charity by lifelong RNLI supporter Desmond Nall.

Derek Dodd had a lifelong passion for the sea, even though he grew up in landlocked Wolverhampton, and often holidayed in Borth-y-Gest near Porthmadog as a young boy.

When World War Two broke out he joined the Royal Navy and served on a minesweeper that patrolled the coast of Italy. Before meeting his wife Jean, Derek travelled the world by boat and canoed from the UK to France. Derek and Jean were married for 52 happy years and later settled near Aberdyfi, where Derek would swim and canoe along the coast well into his 80s.

Desmond Nall lived in Cheswick near Solihull and both he and his brother Godfrey volunteered their services on the RNLI’s stand at the Birmingham Boat Show for a number of years. During their lifetimes both Desmond and Godfrey funded two D class inshore lifeboats, the William and Rose Nall (named in memory of their parents) which is based in Blackpool and the Godfrey and Desmond Nall which was stationed at Rhyl RNLI.

Looking ahead to the ceremony Dave Williams, volunteer lifeboat operations manager at Aberdyfi said: “We look forward to welcoming representatives on behalf of the donors to Aberdyfi so we can thank them in person for allowing us as volunteers to continue the RNLI’s lifesaving work on the coast.”