33. Forever Proud: Janet Madron

When Janet Madron attended the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, she wore something special – the medal awarded to her husband Stephen, who was lost in the 1981 Penlee tragedy

Stephen Madron would do anything for anyone. He even came to Janet’s rescue on the bus to the fair. Years later, she listened as the Coastguard called into the silence for the lost Solomon Browne and her crew.

Hear Janet’s deeply personal account of the Penlee lifeboat disaster – a story of one village’s lost sons, and the hope their loved ones rediscovered. Janet shares why she still loves being an RNLI volunteer and talks about the honour she felt paying the RNLI’s final farewell to our Royal Patron. 

Stephen was one of eight courageous men who were lost in the Penlee tragedy. To pay tribute to them, folk singer Seth Lakeman wrote a special song, Solomon Browne. Listen to Seth's podcast episode to hear the song and how he came to write it.

200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI  

Interview by the RNLI’s Amy Caldwell 

Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls  

The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200