Babies aboard the Oban Lifeboat!

The RNLI is often called upon to carry out a ‘medivac’ from islands such as Mull and the crew have transferred expecting mothers to the mainland on a number of occasions – and on a few the baby has arrived sooner than expected!

To date four babies have been born on board the Oban Lifeboat and this is thought to be the highest number from any RNLI lifeboat station in the UK. The first baby was born onboard only two weeks into the service of Oban’s Lifeboat ‘Mora Edith MacDonald’. On the 5th of August 1997 Jane Banner gave birth on board and they named their baby girl Hazel Beth Mora Banner, in honour of the lifeboat.

It is an old maritime tradition that children are baptised using the ship’s own bell. It is engraved with the child’s name, kept safe and sometimes presented on their 18th birthday. So on the nod to old customs, at the age of 18, each baby born on board the Oban Lifeboat is gifted the ship’s bell that resided on the lifeboat at the time of their birth. In the past, these have been gifted during a presentation at the lifeboat station, usually with some of the crew who were present for the original shout.

Contributed by RNLI Oban

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