Photographer Page

HM Coastguard

The coastguard's joint rescue coordination centre in Fareham, Hampshire. As an emergency service, the coastguard helps mobilise air and sea assets to assist in emergencies around the UK coastline.

A drone (bottom left) flies in formation with an S92 helicopter and a King Air surveillance aircraft. Drones will form part of the Coastguard's air fleet when a new phase of the service – nicknamed UKSAR2G – comes into effect in 2024, and is due to replace or upgrade some existing services.

HM Coastguard's operations room at Falmouth, Cornwall, in 1997.

Coastguards weren't just on the watch for people in distress on the coastline – part of their task was to prevent trafficking of goods and illegal plundering of wrecks.

'Magic lantern' slides – monochrome photographs coloured after development using oils or supplemented to other special effects – show a fantastical scene from 1890, and the life of a Cornish coastguard.