A lot has happened in maritime SAR over the last 100 years and during that time the IMRF and its predecessor organisation, the ILF, and their membership have been at the centre of the development and sharing of knowledge relating to rescue craft design, life-saving technologies and SAR training, as well as promoting the establishment of new maritime lifesaving organisations worldwide. 

From now until the end of 2024 maritime historian and retired Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat coxswain Clayton Evans will look at the highlights of the IMRF’s “First Century” in a series of articles to be published on the IMRF's Centennial History Portal.

To view a timeline of the IMRF's work, please visit the centenary carousel homepage.

Using research material from the 23 International Lifeboat Conferences and World Maritime Rescue Congresses held since 1924, as well as from inter-sessional meetings and seminars, this history has been broken down into specific topics that have been the focus of discussion among IMRF members over the last 100 years. These topics include:

• Celebrating 100 Years of International Co-operation in Maritime SAR
  
  
• The History of Rescue Craft Design - Part 1
  
  
• The Self-Righting Debate
  
  
• The USCG 44 Foot MLB - An International Case Study
  
  
• Aviation and Maritime SAR
  
  
• Development of Inflatable Rescue Craft
  
  
• Mass Rescue Operations
  
  
• Launch Methods for Rescue Craft

Still to come ...

• The History of Rescue Craft Design - Part 2
  
  
• Lifesaving & Personal SAR Equipment
  
  
• Maritime SAR Training - Then and Now
  
  
• Fundraising & Operating Models
  
  
• Promotion of International Cooperation in Maritime SAR
  
  
• High Profile Rescues
  
  
• Stories of those Lost
  
  
• Intersessional Work of the ILF/IMRF
  
  
• Challenges of the Next 100 Years

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Research Assistance Request:

Given the magnitude of this international history any additional archival information, including reports, papers and images, from individual IMRF members regarding any of these specific topics – or the history of the ILF/IMRF in general - would be gladly accepted and very much appreciated. Readers will be reminded of the subject of the next article ahead of its release.

About The Author:

Clayton (Clay) Evans has worked and volunteered in maritime search and rescue for more than 30 years and spent much of that time as a lifeboat coxswain off the coast of British Columbia with the Canadian Coast Guard. He has written and contributed to several books and articles on the history of lifesaving at sea and continues to research and write about this evolving story.