She was twenty-two years old. 🇬🇧 Her father kept the lighthouse on the Farne Islands, a mile off the Northumberland coast. She'd lived on lighthouses since she was a baby. 7 September 1838. A storm hit the coast. The SS Forfarshire, a paddle steamer carrying 63 people, lost power and drifted onto the rocks. The ship broke in two. Passengers were thrown into the sea. Nine survivors clung to the rocks in the dark. Freezing. Waiting. At dawn, Grace saw them from the lighthouse window. Her father said it was impossible. The waves were too high. A rowing boat in that sea was a death sentence. Grace said they had to go. Just two of them. A 22-year-old woman and her 52-year-old father. They rowed a small open boat through enormous waves. They reached the rocks. They couldn't fit everyone. William climbed onto the rocks with two survivors while Grace held the boat alone in the storm. They ferried them back in two trips. Every one of them survived. Grace became the most famous woman in England overnight. Queen Victoria sent money. The RNLI gave her a medal. Painters came to the island. She was offered money to appear in circuses. She refused everything. She stayed on her rock. Four years later, she died of tuberculosis. She was twenty-six. The RNLI still operates today. Volunteers. Every single one. They've saved over 140,000 lives. Because one morning, a woman looked out of a lighthouse window. And refused to look away. Be Proud Of Us. 🇬🇧