The talk on the Mary Stanford lifeboat disaster to be given on October 20, at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Rye Harbour, is sponsored by the Craft Club, the charitable arm of Rye Golf Club. Simon Compton, present chairman of the Craft Club, describes here how it all began:
“The Craft Club was started in the bar of Rye Golf Club in 1991 by three elderly members and since then over 35,000 people have joined with representation in over 30 countries. The Club has raised over £250,000 for the three charities, RNLI, Save the Children and SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors and Air Force Association), the Armed Forces charity. In the case of the RNLI the money is held and used solely for Rye Harbour – Training, Equipment and fuel. The Craft Club also funded a Rye RIB (Rigid, Inflatable Boat), number D-480 which was brought into service around 1995 largely funded by the Craft Club and carried the Craft Club logo. It was smaller than the current craft. I have photos of the naming ceremony. In the case of SSAFA, we fund the office expenses of the East Sussex and West Kent Offices. Money for Save the Children is held for specific disaster funds.
“On occasions we sponsor talks and this year, in conjunction with the RNLI, the Rye Harbour Boat Appeal will receive £8000. This sum is made up by a donation from The Craft Club, money raised by my grandson for a tandem freefall with the Parachute Regiment Red Devils, sadly his jump was put off 4 times by the weather and he will now do it next year and finally from Brigadier Hugh Willing’s talk on The Mary Stanford disaster.”
Simon Compton concludes: “All tickets for the talk are now sold out, but any publicity for The Craft Club is always welcome.”
Venue: The Church of the Holy Spirit, Rye Harbour, at 6pm
Photo: courtesy of Rye Golf Club