No press gang, just a call for volunteers at maritime charity

The Maritime Volunteer Service (MVS) has 25 active units around the coasts and estuaries of the UK.

The organisation’s aims are to help to keep the UK’s maritime tradition alive by training and delivering practical seamanship and engineering skills.

These skills are put to good use in the community at events such as the Tall Ships Regatta in Blyth last summer and at times when called upon by the appropriate authorities.

The Northumbria Unit of the MVS will be holding an information evening for prospective recruits on Wednesday (February 1), between 7pm and 9pm.

It will be hosted at a venue that has special significance to the unit as it was based there for 12 years – The Old Low Light, North Shields Fish Quay, NE30 1JA.

Volunteer officer Keith Newman will also be presented with the Maritime Service Medal in recognition of his service spanning more than 20 years.

Free tickets can be obtained from the event’s Eventbrite page.

Head of unit, volunteer officer, Angela Carrington, said: “At Blyth, we all worked well as a team and we did exactly what we were requested to do. We all put in very long days, but it really was worth it.

“We’ve built up some valuable contacts in the maritime community and made some new friends.

“Now however, it’s time for us to grow the unit so that we can attend more events and utilise our vessels more. You don’t need any previous nautical experience as we will train you. We’d love to see as many people as possible at the evening.”