Shipwrecked battleship ashtrays return to Cornwall after 70 years

Ashtrays salvaged from a battleship which crashed in Cornwall more than 70 years ago will be displayed at Penlee Lifeboat Station.

On April 23, 1947, eight men jumped for their lives when the 31,000-ton former battleship, HMS Warspite crashed against cliffs in Cornwall during stormy conditions.

At the helm of the Penlee Lifeboat ‘W and S’ for the first time, coxswain Edwin (Eddie) Madron handled his craft with skill meaning all were able to make the dangerous leap without injury. 
Coxswain Madron was awarded the Silver Medal of the RNLI and mechanic Johnny Drew received the bronze medal.

The two bronze ashtrays were salvaged from HMS Warspite which crashed in Cornwall more than 70 years ago (Image: Penlee Lifeboat Station)

The remaining crew, Abraham Madron, Joe Madron, Ben Jeffery, Clarry Williams, Jack Worth, Luther Oliver, Jack Wallis and Charlie Edmonds all received thanks from the RNLI on vellum (a certificate which acknowledges RNLI crew members).

This week, Charlotte Lilley kindly donated two bronze ashtrays from HMS Warspite to Andy Bramwell, RNLI community manager for the Cornwall display at Penlee Lifeboat station’s visitor centre.

Charlotte’s grandfather rescued the ashtrays from a scrapyard in Wolverhampton, and the family kept them as heirlooms. Despite growing up away from the sea, Charlotte’s family were always huge supporters of the RNLI.

Charlotte Lilley has donated two bronze ashtrays from HMS Warspite (Image: Penlee Lifeboat Station)

Charlotte’s husband David began working in the RNLI’s Face to Face fundraising team a few years ago and came on a training day at Penlee lifeboat station. He noticed the HMS Warspite rescue story in the visitor centre and remembered Charlotte’s two ashtrays, inherited from her grandmother.

Charlotte decided to donate the ashtrays to the RNLI to go on display in the visitor centre to help tell the story of the rescue and complete the ashtray's journey from Cornwall to Wolverhampton and back to Cornwall.