Local branches of national institutions...

[Soaplady]

Which is correct please: Cromer RNLI or RNLI Cromer? Or doesn't it matter?

Confused of Norfolk

[phantasmagoriana]

On their website they call themselves Cromer RNLI, so I'd go with that.

[rogerzilla]

Supposedly Fujitsu-Siemens' laptop repair centre west of Heathrow used to answer the phone, "Hello, Siemens Staines".  I never had the nerve to call them to verify this.

[Tim Hall]

Supposedly Fujitsu-Siemens' laptop repair centre west of Heathrow used to answer the phone, "Hello, Siemens Staines".  I never had the nerve to call them to verify this.

See also the lift company in Berkshire, Otis Reading.

[Jurek]

Supposedly Fujitsu-Siemens' laptop repair centre west of Heathrow used to answer the phone, "Hello, Siemens Staines".  I never had the nerve to call them to verify this.

See also the lift company in Berkshire, Otis Reading.

Is that the same as the lifts made by a company called Schindler?
Schindler's Lifts.
Like the film.
But with a lithp.

[drossall]

Are we looking for an answer on English grammar (don't think there is one) or what the marketing people have declared for a particular organisation? For me, utility wins. There's a usability rule that says that people scan lists down the left edge, so the first word is the most important. It follows that making a list with the same word first time is really unhelpful. So, neither of these lists would be designed by anyone who was actually interested in communication!

• RNLI Brighton
• RNLI Cromer
• RNLI Llandudno

• Cromer RNLI
• Cromer Scouts
• Cromer Women's Institute

You might apply the same principle of context even if there is no list - do readers know that already either that it's Cromer (so emphasise RNLI) or that it's the RNLI (so emphasise Cromer). And if not, which is most significant in the context? So my answer would be, it depends, and often, do what you like...