A WIDOWER who was twice rescued by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution has gifted £1M to the charity.

Hugh Brown, 78, and his wife Molly, 76, spent the majority of their lives living abroad and retired to Kinghorn in Fife.

They had been active boat enthusiasts and supporters of the RNLI.

Their earlier generosity included a £20,000 gift which funded a new lifeboat trailer based at the nearby Kinghorn RNLI centre.

Mrs Brown passed away in July 2006 and Hugh died aged 78 in February this year. They had no children.

On two occasions Hugh was rescued from the local loch by brave RNLI volunteers when his neighbour's boat encountered difficulties on choppy waters.

And it has emerged he had organised to have his entire £1,013,445.92 estate left to the RNLI.

Linda Aitken, legacy manager for the RNLI in Scotland said: "We were stunned when we heard how much Mr and Mrs Brown had left the RNLI and we are truly grateful for such generosity."

Hugh, originally from Pittenweem, lived in Kinghorn for 25 years with Molly, who was originally from Islay.

They met in India where Hugh worked as a banker and Molly worked as a midwife.

After retiring in 1995, Hugh, whose grandfather was a ship's captain, was also an active member of the committee that established the Fisheries Museum in Anstruther.

The bulk of the couple's fortune was made up of stocks and shares, as well as the sale of their Fife property.

A friend of the couple Charles Ritchie, 59, said that Hugh and Molly were never happier than when they were on the water.

He said: "They both worked abroad for about 40 years before they retired back home.

"They were very generous people, they did a lot of charity work for children's hospitals.

"Hugh was based in India for some time where he helped to finance boats, and was over in Zambia during the financial problems there.

"When Hugh was here he would phone and tell me what boats were coming in, he had a book that he compiled where he took note of different ships that came to shore.

"Their house looked out over the water, they were truly happy there, it would have meant a lot to them to know they could help the RNLI."

The RNLI has allocated most of the generous legacy to projects across Scotland including funding three years of crew training of the Islay RNLI lifeboat crew as well as the next planned maintenance for Islay RNLI lifeboat.

Another project to benefit from the donation is the extension of the Eyemouth RNLI lifeboat station.

Islay McEachern, Lifeboat Operations Manager for Islay RNLI lifeboat station said: "All at Islay lifeboat station were amazed to learn of the magnificent gift left by Hugh and Molly.

"This legacy reflects the generosity and thoughtfulness, both at local and national level, which allows the RNLI to maintain its operations."

Charlie Tulloch, Lifeboat Operations Manager for Kinghorn RNLI lifeboat station added: "Everyone of us in the station was surprised to hear about the donation and very, very grateful."

Six out of ten RNLI lifeboat launches are only possible thanks to people who remember the RNLI in their will.

Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 137,000 lives.