£2.6m legacy funds new lifeboat

The new lifeboat is likely to be the technologically advanced Tamar class. Picture courtesy RNLI

A lifeboat station in southern Scotland is set to benefit from a £2.6m legacy.

The money was donated by the late Catherine Isabelle Barr to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.

The organisation has agreed the money will be used to fund a new boat at its Portpatrick station which will be named in memory of Mrs Barr's husband John.

The boat will be one of the RNLI's most technically advanced vessels and will replace the local station's existing boat within the next five years.

The RNLI is extremely grateful for this generous gift Isla Dewar RNLI communications manager

Mrs Barr's husband, Dr John Barr, served in Italy during the war and was later awarded the MBE.

The couple married in 1940 and Dr Barr went on to become a GP in Bearsden in Glasgow.

Throughout their lives they were regular visitors to the west coast of Scotland.

Dr Barr died five years ago and his wife died earlier this year.

Mrs Barr's cousin, Brenda Winterbotham, said a new lifeboat was a fitting use of her relatives' legacy.

"I am delighted personally that my cousin has made this her primary beneficiary in her will, there could not be a better memorial to their busy and caring lives," she said.

"They visited Portpatrick every year and knew the area very well."

'Saving lives'

RNLI communications manager Isla Dewar said the donation would make a real difference to the area.

"The RNLI is extremely grateful for this generous gift," she said.

"As a charity we rely on every penny donated by the public and businesses to help provide our volunteer lifeboat crews with the equipment and training they need to continue saving lives at sea."

The lifeboat is likely to be the technologically advanced Tamar class vessel.

It will replace the current Tyne class lifeboat, Mary Irene Millar, at the end of its service life.