Chorus of approval for Torquay man's fundraiser song for Lifeboat heros

A Torquay man has struck a chord with the local community by raising over £1,400 for the RNLI with a song he wrote for the institution’s 200th anniversary. 

As a member of the Torbay RNLI fundraising team, Roger Smith performed his song at the start of a special anniversary service at All Saints church in Brixham earlier this month. 

Roger said he hoped his song, ‘200 Years’, paid tribute not just to Torbay’s lifeboat crew, but the entire RNLI family. 

“I set out to raise £200 for 200 years but this has gone beyond my wildest expectations,” Roger said. 

“It just kept going and going!”

Roger began working with the RNLI after he moved down to Torbay from Cheltenham over five years ago. 

He said: “My wife has been a lifelong fan of the RNLI, so she decided to join them as a fundraiser and then I joined not long after that. Now, one of my main concerns is fundraising ideas in all shapes and sizes for the lifeboats in Torbay.”

A keen musician since childhood, Roger began playing the drums at the age of five and has never put down his instruments. All through school, he was participating in gigs and events. 

“While other kids were doing a paper round, I was making decent money playing in pubs, clubs and restaurants,” he explained. 

After touring with various bands playing many different genres of music, Roger stepped away from performing about 12 years ago, but he was keen to pick up songwriting once again. 

The RNLI’s 200th anniversary was the perfect moment to try something new. 

“I had this tune kicking around in my head for quite a while,” said Roger.

“It was when we were all coming up with ideas to raise money for the anniversary that I had the idea to write the song. 

“So I sat down with my computer and played around with it, and kept doing so for about six months. I was driving my wife mad because I kept playing it with different lyrics until I got it right.”

After showing it to close friends and the committee, Roger put '200 Years' out on social media, linking it to a Just Giving page. 

Roger was also asked to perform the song to open the RNLI’s special 200th-anniversary service at All Saints church in Brixham, attended by members of the lifeboat crew as well as local dignitaries, including the Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt. Rev’d James Grier and H.M Vice Lord Lieutenant, the Countess of Arran. 

Roger said: “I had to take my seat in front of about 300 people which was a little nerve-racking, but it went really well and everybody seemed to love it. I was really pleased. 

“I've always played in bands, where you're performing with a lot of people, but when you’re solo, there’s nowhere to hide!”

He added: “It was a fantastic evening. After I played, the crew's wives came up and did some sea shanties. They were then joined by the crew which was brilliant. We then had some children from a local school perform. 

“The Bishop of Plymouth did a great service with Helen Lovell-Smith, the Fishermen’s Mission Area Officer for Devon.

“We finished the evening at the pub, having a pint with the crew.”

To hear Roger’s song, or to donate to his fundraiser, visit: https://torbaylifeboat.co.uk/200-years/