Henry Freeman

Just donated this picture to the R.N.L.I. He is Henry Freeman he was the only survivor of the 1861 Whitby lifeboat disaster .The rest of the crew refused to wear the newly invented cork lifejacket ,but he agreed to try it out so saving his life. He went on to rescue more than 300 lives in his lifetime and was rewarded the R.N.L.I. silver medal.reference photo courtesy of the sutcliffe gallery.