Hastings Lifeboat Station
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| Hastings Lifeboat Station | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Hastings Lifeboat Station | |
  Hastings | |
| General information | |
| Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
| Location | The Stade |
| Town or city | Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3FJ |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 50°51′16.0″N 0°35′9.0″E / 50.854444°N 0.585833°E |
| Opened | 1858 |
| Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Hastings Lifeboat Station is located on The Stade, in the town of Hastings, in East Sussex. A lifeboat was first stationed here in 1835, but after a period of decline, the boat was no longer fit for purpose.
A new station was opened by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1858.[1]
The station currently operates Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat, 13-28 Richard and Caroline Colton (ON 1335), launched off the beach using the Shannon Launch and Recovery System, and a D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat, Richard Francis (D-835).[2]
History[edit]
The loss of a Coastguard boat and six crew in 1834 prompted a local fund to be set up, raising £81, and a lifeboat was provided in 1835, built locally by Thwaite and Winter. There are no records of any service, and by 1851, the boat was deemed to be unfit.[1]
The loss of another boat and crew off Hastings in October 1857 prompted local residents to place a request with the RNLI, that a lifeboat be placed at Hastings. This was agreed, and an order was placed with Forrestt of Limehouse, London to build a 30-foot Self-righting lifeboat, costing £161. A carriage was ordered, and a new boat house was commissioned at Rock-a-Nore, constructed by local builder Edwin Harman, at a cost of £137-10s. All costs were funded locally.[3]
The lifeboat arrived in Hastings on Monday 5 April 1858, along with a carriage and her equipment, all transported free of charge by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. She was drawn on her carriage by a team of horses, and paraded through the streets of Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea to the boathouse, where she was named Victoria by the Mayor.
Mr. T. S. Hyde was appointed Honorary Secretary, and Charles Picknell to be Coxswain.[3]
Victoria only served Hastings for 5 years, as she was found to be too small for the conditions encountered. In 1863, she was transferred to Palling in Norfolk, where she served for the following 18 years. Hastings were provided with a replacement unnamed boat, previously a 30-foot 10-oared Self-righting boat stationed at Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire). She was modified for Hastings by Forrestt and extended to 36-foot 4inches (12-oared), arriving on 7 August 1863, and again transported free of charge by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. In 1867, she was named Ellen Goodman in acknowledgment of the bequest of Miss E. Goodman, of Eversholt, Bedfordshire.[3]
Hastings was one of the first stations to receive one of the small fast D-class (RFD PB16) (D-21) inshore lifeboats in 1964. As was common at the time, the use of the inshore boat was seasonal, and so followed a succession of boats each year until one was permanently placed on service in 1975, a D-class (Zodiac III) (D-226).[2]
A new Mersey-class lifeboat was assigned to the station in 1989. She was funded by bequests from Dr. William Murphy and Mrs. Dorothy Kellet, and from a special promotion run by Sealink British Ferries, costing £498,625. At a ceremony on 21 September 1989, she was named 12-002 Sealink Endeavour (ON 1125) by HRH The Duke of Kent, President of the RNLI.[1]
In 2015, the RNLI received the most valuable items ever left to the Institution in a single legacy. In a most extraordinary bequest, the RNLI received two rare Ferrari cars from the estate of the late Mr. Richard Colton, businessman. Both were sent to auction.
The first one, a silver 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 sold for £1.93m. The second one, a 1960 red Ferrari 250 GT SWB sold for £6.6m This has funded two Shannon-class lifeboats, the first being assigned to Hastings in 2018, 13-28 Richard and Caroline Colton (ON 1335).[4]
Notable Rescues[edit]
On 31 March 1943, Hastings lifeboat was called to the aid of H.M. Trawler Caulonia, stranded off Jury's Gap, 10 miles east of Hastings, in a WSW gale, with rough seas and heavy swell. All kinds of obstacles had to be removed from the beach following Defence work. The boat was eventually run down the beach just as an enormous wave hit, and the boat was flung back on the beach. Finally the boat was launched, and made to the Caulonia. 17 men had already left in a life-raft. With wreckage all around, Coxswain Muggeridge managed to bring the lifeboat alongside for 30 minutes while the remaining seven crew were rescued. For this service, Coxswain John Muggeridge and Motor Mechanic William Hilder were both awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.
Sadly, only days after the rescue, John Muggeridge was killed when his fishing boat hit a Sea-mine, and Mechanic William Hilder died in an Air-Raid two months later.[3]
Station honours[edit]
The following are awards made at Hastings[1][5]
- Lt. John Prattent, RN, HMS Hyperion - 1830
- Lt. Horatio James, RN, HMS Hyperion - 1830
- Gold Medal, awarded by the Argentinian Naval Authorities
- Dr Peter Davy - 1974
- Alfred Stonham, Fisherman - 1904
- John Herbert William Martin, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1975
- Dr Peter Davy - 1974
- John Edward Muggeridge, Coxswain - 1943
- William R Hilder, Motor Mechanic - 1943
- George Douglas White, Second Coxswain - 1975
- John H Martin, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1985
- Dr Peter Davy - 1974
- The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
- Commander W. Highfield, OBE, RN, Honorary Secretary - 1943
- Edward F Adams, Second Coxswain - 1943
- Fred White, Bowman - 1943
- Hasting Lifeboat Crew - 1975
- Christopher Cooper, Helmsman - 1985
- Graham Furness, crew member - 1985
- Steven Martin, crew member - 1985
- David John Curtis, Assistant Mechanic - 1991
- Simon Hodgson, Helmsman - 2007
- A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
- J H Martin, Motor Mechanic - 1965
- S Ferguson, Police Sergeant - 1965
- J H Martin, Motor Mechanic - 1967
- W Adams - 1967
- R Shoesmith, ILB crew - 1972
- C Green, ILB crew - 1972
- K Ronchett, ILB crew - 1972
- Fred White, Coxswain - 1991
- Slone Phillips, crew member - 2007
- Glenn Barry, crew member - 2007
- Letters of Thanks signed by the Secretary of the Institution
- John Martin, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1972
- B Foster - 1972
- R White - 1972
- F Davis - 1972
- J Mitchell - 1972
- R Taylor - 1972
- S Ferguson, Police Sergeant - 1965
- S Ferguson, Police Sergeant - 1965
- John H Martin, Motor Mechanic - 1965
- John Herbert William Martin, Coxswain Mechanic - 1987[6]
Hastings lifeboats[edit]
All-weather lifeboats[edit]
| ON[a] | Op.No.[b] | Name | In service[2] | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| − | − | Arial? | 1835− | Unknown | [Note 1] |
| − | − | Victoria | 1858−1863 | Peake | [Note 2] |
| − | − | Unnamed, Ellen Goodman | 1863−1880 | 36-foot 4in Self-righting (P&S) (12-oared) | [Note 3] [Note 4] |
| 187 | − | Charles Arkcoll | 1880−1901 | 34'Self-righting (P&S) | |
| 469 | − | Charles Arkcoll | 1901−1931 | 35'Self-righting (P&S) | |
| 740 | − | Cyril and Lilian Bishop | 1931−1950 | 35ft 6in Self-righting motor | |
| 878 | − | M. T. C. | 1950−1963 | 35ft 6in Self-righting motor | [Note 5] |
| 795 | − | Frank and William Oates | 1963−1964 | Liverpool | |
| 973 | 37-06 | Fairlight | 1964−1988 | Oakley | |
| 984 | 37-17 | Mary Joicey | 1988−1989 | Oakley | |
| 1125 | 12-002 | Sealink Endeavour | 1989−2018 | Mersey | |
| 1335 | 13-28 | Richard and Caroline Colton | 2018− | Shannon | [4][7] |
Inshore lifeboats[edit]
| Op.No.[b] | Name | In service[2] | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-21 | Unnamed | 1964 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
| D-25 | Unnamed | 1965 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
| D-25 | Unnamed | 1965−1967 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
| D-11 | Unnamed | 1967 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
| D-143 | Unnamed | 1967−1975 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
| D-226 | Unnamed | 1975−1982 | D-class (Zodiac III) | |
| D-288 | Cinque Ports I | 1983−1989 | D-class (Zodiac III) | |
| D-392 | Cecile Rampton | 1989−1998 | D-class (EA16) | |
| D-540 | Cecile Rampton II | 1998−2008 | D-class (EA16) | |
| D-699 | Daphne May | 2008−2019 | D-class (IB1) | |
| D-835 | Richard Francis | 2019− | D-class (IB1) | [8] |
Launch and recovery tractors[edit]
| Op. No.[b] | Reg. No. | Type | In service[2] | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T65 | VYT 878 | Fowler | 1963–1970 | |
| T57 | NYE 351 | Fowler | 1970–1972 | |
| T65 | VYT 878 | Fowler | 1972–1973 | |
| T60 | OXO 323 | Fowler | 1973–1974 | |
| T65 | VYT 878 | Fowler | 1974–1985 | |
| T95 | B188 GAW | Talus MB-H Crawler | 1985 | |
| T96 | B688 HUJ | Talus MB-H Crawler | 1985–1997 | |
| T95 | B188 GAW | Talus MB-H Crawler | 1997–2007 | |
| T119 | N470 XAW | Talus MB-H Crawler | 2007–2019 | |
| SC-T16 | HF18 DYS | SLARS (Clayton) | 2018– | Named Richard and Mark Colton |
Notes[edit]
See also[edit]
- List of RNLI stations
- Royal National Lifeboat Institution
- Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Hastings' station history". RNLI. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
- ^ a b c d Morris, Jeff (December 2000). The Story of the Hastings Lifeboat. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 1–46.
- ^ a b Riley, David (27 April 2019). "Lifeboat funded by Ferraris officially named at Hastings RNLI". RNLI. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0-907605-89-3.
- ^ "British Empire Medal (Civil Division)". The Gazette. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Northampton man leaves the RNLI two Ferraris in his will". ITV. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "New Hastings lifeboat to honour mum and son's shared love of the sea". Sussex World. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2024.