The Duke of Kent at The RNLI Memorial at its headquarters in Poole. (RNLI/Nigel Millard)

A GUERNSEYMAN was among those remembered at an RNLI memorial service yesterday.

Harold Hobbs was 34 when he died on 28 June 1940 when the lifeboat he was in came under machine-gun fire from German aircraft.

The lifeboat was passing Noirmont Point, Jersey, on her way to meet the St Helier lifeboat when three planes shot at the crew and Mr Hobbs, the coxswain’s son, was killed.

The boats were set to be sailed across the Channel to England. But both fell into German hands. It was not until five days after the attack that they were released and Mr Hobbs’s body returned home.

RNLI lifeboat crews and supporters observed a minute’s silence at midday yesterday.

The silence was a sign of respect and gratitude to the many people connected with the charity who had lost their lives helping to save others at sea.

‘The RNLI memorial is a tribute to the many hundreds of people who have given their lives selflessly to save others over the last 200 years, and it will ensure that the sacrifices made by our volunteers, and others, while saving lives at sea are never forgotten,’ said RNLI chief executive Andrew Freemantle. The ceremony took place at a new memorial sculpture at the charity’s headquarters in Poole, Dorset, and was attended by HRH The Duke of Kent.