We were recently honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to our Annual General Meeting at Trinity House in London – all part of our celebrations to mark our 145th anniversary.
Celebrating 145 years of supporting fishermen
Our charity was founded as The National Mission to the Deep Sea Fishermen by Ebenezer Mather in 1881. His motto for the Mission was to ‘Preach the Word; Heal the Sick’.
In 1896, Queen Victoria became our patron, and our charity’s name changed to the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. We have remained a royal charity since that moment. We were delighted and honoured to have Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal become our patron following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, continuing more than a century of royal support.
A special visit from The Princess Royal
We were extremely privileged that Her Royal Highness attended our Annual General Meeting this year, which marked our 145th anniversary.
During her visit, The Princess Royal addressed all gathered before spending time with some of our donors, volunteers, trustees, and staff members. She also met our ‘Partners in Hope’ Award Winners – those we were recognising for their extraordinary efforts to support us over the years.
Budeaux Lovell-Smith, daughter of our Fishermen’s Mission Area Manager for Devon, Helen Lovell Smith, and her Brixham fisherman husband Mike ‘Sprat’ Smith, presented The Princess Royal with a posy of flowers as she departed.
Continuing Ebenezer Mather’s Legacy
Much has changed in the fishing industry since 1881, but the need to support fishermen and their families remains just as important.
We have continued to provide practical, financial, and emotional support to fishing communities around the UK – sharing the compassion of Christ where it is needed most, just as Mather and his crew once did.
