Staff and customers of the Admiral’s Arm were thanked by the crew of the Sheerness RNLI lifeboats after being presented with a cheque for £20,000 by the pub licensees Rachel and Chris Collier.
The couple started raising the money since it was first established three years ago by selling fish suppers, cake bakes and hosting weekly quiz nights.
Excellent support
Another source of income was the pub’s £1 mobile phone fine that is collected if a customer answers their phone while on the premises – the culprit is then accompanied by shouts of “fine, fine” by everybody present.
Rachel, who is a crew member of the Sheerness lifeboats, said: “Chris and I would like to thank all our customers for their excellent support with our fundraising and also our brilliant quiz masters who between them give up their time to support the RNLI every Thursday night throughout the year.”
Renowned for its real ales, ciders, wine and premium spirits, Swale CAMRA awarded the pub Cider Pub of the Year 2019 and Kent CAMRA recognised it as Pub of the Year 2019.
A dedicated service
On 28 February 1823, Sir William Hillary made an impassioned appeal to the nation, calling for a service dedicated to saving lives at sea.
That service was to become the RNLI and since its foundation in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved more than 140,000 lives.
The Colliers will continue their fundraising for the RNLI and are keen to raise money for the new Shannan class lifeboat – the Judith Copping Joyce – which is still under construction.
