Since the charity was founded in 1824, the country’s volunteers have launched lifeboats 47,596 times, saving 12,516 lives, while lifeguards in Wales – who were part of the RNLI Lifeboat Service in 2001 – have responded to 22,647 incidents, saving 679 lives. In total, 146,452 lives have been saved by the RNLI in the UK and Ireland – an average of two lives saved every day for 200 years.