Madam,

Recently we heard the sad news that our dear friend Bryan Ralph had passed away suddenly. The reason we are contacting your newspaper is to explain to your readers just what an amazing man he was.

From nine years old he became totally engrossed in the work of the RNLI while on holiday and in particular Aberdyfi Lifeboat. Living in the Midlands his eyes were opened to the importance of lifeboats and to the bravery of the crews. From that day on he set about raising much-needed funds for the RNLI, starting off by saving his pennies.

However, with maturity came fundraising on a large scale. He and his wife Janet put this task before anything else. Buying a caravan near Aberdyfi gave them a base from where they did everything possible to raise money which involved taking part in many functions at Aberdyfi Lifeboat station. Many of you will recall Janet and her annual duck race!

Bryan was happy to travel all over the country to give talks on the importance of lifeboats and the never-ending need to keep funds coming in. All he asked was for was for donations for his cause and used his own money for travel, sometimes at long distances.

After his talk his wife would be found at a table selling lifeboat memorabilia for RNLI and they would come away happy that they had raised money for the lifeboats.

Back in their home in the Black Country they also accepted large and small items that they could sell at a stall on the local market. This proved very successful over a long period, once again raising large sums.

We have been with Bryan when he has visited other lifeboat stations, Borth and Holyhead to name two. He was held in high regard by the staff at each site. It made us very proud to say he was our friend.

However, knowing that he persuaded the chief executive of Sandwell Council in the Midlands to urge all members of staff to donate a small amount from their monthly pay was a great achievement. This would help with the purchase of a new boat. That boat was named Sandwell Lifeline.

It has since been replaced but it provided a great service over the many years it worked to rescue many people.

To conclude, even in death, donations will be collected and forwarded to RNLI.

Thank you Bryan, you will be missed.

Yours etc,

George and Linda Turton, Cader Walk, Tywyn.

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