Boy to visit lifeboat stations in teacher's memory

A 10-year-old boy plans to visit every lifeboat station in the UK in memory of his late primary school teacher.

Megan Dryland, 35, died from a brain tumour earlier this year. At a memorial service for her pupils, it was revealed she had a lifelong passion for the coast and a deep respect for those who save lives at sea.

The teacher and archaeologist one day hoped to visit every RNLI lifeboat station in the UK, but passed away before her dream became a reality.

Keen to follow in her footsteps, Thomas and his family, from Skipton in North Yorkshire, challenged themselves to visit all 238 stations and leave behind a pot of cornflowers- Megan's favourite flower- at each site.

Thomas, who is entering year six, was taught by Megan for two years and described her as "nice and kind".

"Mrs Dryland meant a whole heap of everything to Thomas, so in turn, I will do everything in my power to facilitate this challenge," Rebecca Shaw, Thomas's mother, said.

Along with Thomas's 13-year-old sister Alice, the family has so far visited nearly 30 lifeboat stations.

"We've done two trips, each two days long, and on each day we usually do about seven (lifeboat stations)," Rebecca explained.

"It's a bit of a mammoth epic task that we've given ourselves."

The RNLI sent the family a map of all 238 stations in the UK, which they printed out on A1 paper and put in Thomas's bedroom.

Thomas said one of his favourite lifeboat stations was RNLI Hartlepool, where he was given a guided tour by the officers there.

"They showed us around the boats and they gave us lanyards, they were just wonderful," Rebecca added.

"There's a lot of places we visit, because we get up so early in the morning so we can get back home at a normal time, where there's no one there.

"But we leave little letters behind so they kind of understand why they've got a pot of earth on their door when they arrive at work."

Thomas and Alice said a lack of sleep and potting the plants was the biggest challenge so far but Rebecca thinks the hardest trips are yet to come.

"Cornwall, Scotland, they're going to be a huge challenge because when they go back to school in September, I don't have the luxury of time to be able to just nip up," Rebecca explained.

Instead, the family will work out a plan for their weekends, hoping to finish before Thomas leaves primary school next summer.

"If we don't manage it, deep down, I'll be disappointed," she admitted.

"I've spoken to Thomas's headteacher and she said that the baton would be handed over to another child to complete the task but unfortunately, I'm incredibly stubborn."

A Justgiving page has been set up by Rebecca in Megan's memory, which aims to raise £1,000 for the RNLI.

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