Plymouth Volunteer Saves 7 Lives in 20 Years at Sea

When Will Roberts was just 17 years old, he made a choice that would save seven lives and help hundreds of others make it home safely from the sea.

Now marking 20 years with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Roberts has launched into action 431 times, spending nearly 600 hours rescuing people in trouble at sea. He started volunteering alongside his father in Wales before moving to Plymouth in 2012, where he continues to serve while working as a marine engineer.

His first rescue wasn't quite what you'd expect. Nine sheep had been caught by the big tides on the Gower peninsula in Wales, and the teenage volunteer found himself learning to expect the unexpected. Over the years, that lesson has held true as Roberts has rescued people floating out to sea on inflatable swans and countless dog owners who got into trouble trying to save their pets.

But some rescues carry more weight than others. Roberts recalls saving someone "in the nick of time" in the dark at Bovisand, Devon. "It's great to know that person is still here today because we were able to rescue them," he said.

The work demands being ready at any moment. Roberts remembers the "loud shock" of nighttime call-outs echoing through the station, signaling someone needed help immediately.

Why This Inspires

Roberts represents thousands of RNLI volunteers who drop everything when the call comes. They leave warm beds, family dinners, and peaceful evenings to race into storms and darkness for complete strangers. His fellow crew member Neil Humphrey calls him "a steady presence on the crew" and "a sound pair of hands on board," the kind of person you're grateful to have alongside you when conditions turn dangerous.

What Roberts values most after two decades isn't the dramatic rescues. "The best thing about the last 20 years has been making good friends, helping to build up the Plymouth RNLI crew and all the camaraderie with my fellow volunteer crew members," he said.

He even finds joy in the animal rescues because the owners are so grateful, a reminder that every call-out matters to someone.

Twenty years, 662 people helped, and seven lives definitively saved—that's the quiet heroism of someone who chose service over comfort, again and again.