Two newlyweds who volunteer for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) are preparing to spend their first Valentine’s Day together as a married couple – but will be ready to leave their romantic dinner to rescue those in need.
Emma Taylor and Allen Heath-Coleman, volunteers at Appledore Lifeboat Station in Devon, tied the knot in August last year and said being on the crew together keeps their love strong. On Friday 14 February the couple will spend their first Valentine’s Day together as a married couple but will be ready to help those in need should the pager go off.
Emma, a special educational needs coordinator, said: ‘Allen has always wanted to join the RNLI. Because my kids were young, I’d never thought it would be possible. But because Al was interested, I looked and I saw the role of launch authority. I’ve lived in Appledore for years, I love living here, I love the sea and it made sense to volunteer for the RNLI. I’ve seen how much work the volunteers put into what they do.’
Allen, a delivery driver who volunteers as shore crew, was on Emma’s first shout which ended with a life saved.
‘It was nice to come back and be able to talk about what we’d experienced. We both knew how the other felt,’ Emma added.
‘Volunteering has been about both of us having something to share, we bounce ideas off each other. I think the extra time has brought us together with a common interest. Something important to share.’
The couple visited the lifeboat station shortly after saying ‘I do’ on their wedding day to find their fellow crew members had formed a guard of honour out of oars.
‘It made us feel like we belonged,’ Emma said. ‘They said we were part of one crew, part of the family, I almost cried.’
Emma and Allen have been together nine years and are planning on going out for a romantic dinner on Valentine’s Day. However, like RNLI volunteers around the coast of the UK and Ireland, they will have their pager with them ready to help those in need.
