It was a case of history repeating itself when Falmouth RNLI held their anniversary dinner at the Falmouth Hotel as 150 years ago the branch had held a similar event at the same hotel to celebrate the arrival of the station's first lifeboat, the City of Gloucester.

More than 100 people attended the anniversary dinner, which was not only a celebration, but also a fundraiser for the station's £100,000 appeal, the total of which now stands at more than £93,000.

The City of Gloucester arrived in Falmouth in April 1867 and was formally launched at the Docks on August 28 after it had been paraded through the streets of Falmouth, drawn on its carriage by 12 horses with the lifeboat crew seated in the boat.

The Royal Cornwall Gazette reported that thousands of people witnessed the event which included a demonstration of the lifeboat’s capsize capabilities.

The Gloucester was paid for from money raised by the people of that city and a number of people from Gloucester were present at this official inauguration. The dinner that took place that evening was hosted by Falmouth's mayor, Thomas Webber, and guest of honour was RNLI secretary, Richard Lewis. The Falmouth Hotel was only two-years-old at the time.

Guests at the dinner held 150 years later included RNLI representatives, members of Falmouth Town Council and managers and staff from local businesses. During the evening George Rawlinson, RNLI operations director, presented a vellum to mark the anniversary to Falmouth RNLI’s lifeboat operations manager, Alan Rowe and coxswain Jon Blakeston.

The evening saw just over £3,000 raised from a raffle and an auction, which was run by Betty Stogs and supported by local businesses.

Paul Wickes, deputy chair of the Falmouth RNLI appeal committee, said: "We are hugely grateful to everyone who supported the 150th dinner and contributed to the amazing sum of £3,040 collected on the night. We also appreciate the fantastic efforts of everyone behind the scenes who made the night a success, but in particular Debbie Killingback and Pauline Wickes for arranging the raffle and auction prizes, and Clare Cocks at Cornwall Marine Network for coordinating ticket sales."

Mark Killingback, chair of the appeal committee, added: "This now takes the appeal total to over £93,000 towards our target of £100,000 which is fantastic."

The appeal will go towards the money needed to make alterations and upgrades to the current lifeboat station in Tinners Walk ahead of the arrival of a new Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat.