The Royal National Lifeboat Institution was established in 1824 and has a long and proud tradition of saving life at sea. Today, the volunteer lifeboat crews on the coasts of Northumberland, County Durham, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire operate high-tech state-of-the-art lifeboats for the purpose of saving lives at sea.

The RNLI currently operates sixteen lifeboat stations along the north-east coast of England. This comprehensive book has details of every one, and covers their histories and the current operations. It also includes details of old stations that have been closed, photographs of lifeboat memorials, and contains descriptions of some of the dramatic, courageous and daring rescues undertaken by the lifeboat crews from the region.

Author Nicholas Leach has amassed a wealth of information about the lifeboats and lifeboat stations of the North East, past and present, visiting every one to provide a complete and up-to-date record of lifesaving in the treacherous North Sea between Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north and Skegness.