A SWANAGE man who served for more than 50 years as an RNLI volunteer has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours.

David Corben, 73, has been awarded an MBE by His Royal Highness King Charles for his dedicated voluntary support to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

David has dedicated a significant amount of his adult life to the service and betterment of the Isle of Purbeck and its residents.

He joined the crew at Swanage Lifeboat Station at the age of 20 having served as a volunteer with the Coastguard for a few years.

During 53 years of voluntary service to the RNLI, he has carried out numerous roles such as 35 years as an operational crew (18 of which were as emergency mechanic), 14 years as a launch authority, and more recently, he provided inspirational leadership as the chair of the Lifeboat Management Group, responsible for overseeing all aspects of station life.

Speaking on the recognition, David said: “When I first received the letter, I thought someone was playing a joke.

“But after seeing it was real, I was very humbled, but also very honoured that the RNLI should think I'm worthy of such recognition because I’m just a small cog in the big wheel.

“I served on the Swanage lifeboat for 35 years. I then did 15 years in duty launching authority.

“I'm the man who made the decision to launch lifeboats and then have to deal with the casualties and write up the reports.

“On my 70th birthday, which coincided with me coming out of Dorchester Hospital after a severe illness, I retired from the RNLI.

“Once I'd recovered from my illness, they kept talking to me and badgering me and asked me to become chairman of the branch.

“My father was chairman of the branch, My son has 20 years of service as well.”

David didn’t just work with the RNLI, he was also the founder of the Swanage Community Defibrillator Partnership, an initiative that has grown and has now funded and installed nearly 40 defibrillators across the Isle of Purbeck which has helped save countless lives.