Hastings Lifeboat Station

Hastings Lifeboat Station is located on The Stade, in the town of Hastings, in East Sussex.

Hastings Lifeboat Station
Hastings Lifeboat Station
Hastings Lifeboat Station is located in East Sussex
Hastings Lifeboat Station
Hastings, East Sussex
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationThe Stade
Town or cityHastings, East Sussex, TN34 3FJ
CountryEngland
Coordinates50°51′16.0″N 0°35′9.0″E / 50.854444°N 0.585833°E / 50.854444; 0.585833
Opened1858
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Hastings RNLI

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

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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]

On her last service at Hastings, Ellen Goodman was launched on 18 February 1879, to the aid of the schooner Apollo, on passage from London, United Kingdom to Cette, Hérault, France, with a cargo of currants. Five crew were rescued when she ran aground and was wrecked near 'Rock-a-Nore'.[4]

 
Mersey-class 12-002 Sealink Endeavour

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]

 
Richard Colton Ferrari

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 Richard Colton, businessman. Both were sent to auction:

This has funded two Shannon-class lifeboats, the first being assigned to Hastings in 2018, 13-28 Richard and Caroline Colton (ON 1335).[5]

In 2018, photographer Jack Lowe made images of the lifeboat and crew at Hastings Lifeboat Station using his Edwardian plate-glass camera. An image of Sloane Phillips, Deputy Second Coxswain, has been accessioned into the collection at the Royal Maritime Museum at Greenwich.[6]

Notable rescues

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On 31 March 1943, Hastings lifeboat Cyril and Lilian Bishop (ON 740) 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 lifeboat 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 liferaft. 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. Only days after the rescue, Muggeridge was killed when his fishing boat hit a sea mine, and Hilder died in an air raid two months later.[3]

Station honours

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The following are awards made at Hastings[1][7]

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
Sloane 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[8]

Hastings lifeboats

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All-weather lifeboats

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ON[a] Op.No.[b] Name In service[2] Class Comments
Ariel? 1835−1851 Unknown [Note 1]
Pre-314 Victoria 1858−1863 30-foot Peake [Note 2]
Pre-281 Unnamed,
Ellen Goodman(from 1867–)
1863−1880 36-foot 4in Self-righting (P&S) [Note 3]
187 Charles Arkcoll 1880−1901 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 4]
469 Charles Arkcoll 1901−1931 35-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 5]
740 Cyril and Lilian Bishop 1931−1950 35ft 6in Self-righting motor [Note 6]
878 M. T. C. 1950−1963 35ft 6in Self-righting motor [Note 7]
M.T.C. was named for the Mechanised Transport Corps
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 [5][9]
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Inshore lifeboats

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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-27 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) [10]

Launch and recovery tractors

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Op. No.[b] Reg. No. Type In service[2] Comments
T65 VYT 878 Fowler Challenger III 1963–1970 On display at the RNLI Heritage Centre in Chatham
T57 NYE 351 Fowler Challenger III 1970–1972
T65 VYT 878 Fowler Challenger III 1972–1973 On display at the RNLI Heritage Centre in Chatham
T60 OXO 323 Fowler Challenger III 1973–1974
T65 VYT 878 Fowler Challenger III 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
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ^ a b c Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

Notes

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  1. ^ Built locally by Thwaite and Winter
  2. ^ 30-foot (10-Oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, costing £161.
  3. ^ 30-foot (10-Oared) lifeboat, modified to 36' 4" (12-Oared) by Forrestt of Limehouse, London
  4. ^ 34-foot (10-Oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, costing £363.
  5. ^ 34-foot (10-Oared) Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £844.
  6. ^ 35ft 6in Self-righting motor lifeboat, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, with single 35 hp Weyburn petrol-engine, giving 7.25 knots.
  7. ^ 35ft 6in Self-righting motor lifeboat, built by Groves and Guttridge, with twin 18 hp Weyburn petrol-engines, giving 7.25 knots, and costing £11,283.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Hastings' station history". RNLI. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  3. ^ a b c d Morris, Jeff (December 2000). The Story of the Hastings Lifeboat. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 1–46.
  4. ^ "Shipping". Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough. No. 3642. Middlesbrough. 19 February 1879. p. 4.
  5. ^ a b Riley, David (27 April 2019). "Lifeboat funded by Ferraris officially named at Hastings RNLI". RNLI. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Sloane Phillips, Hastings RNLI Deputy 2nd Coxswain, 16th September 2018". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  7. ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0-907605-89-3.
  8. ^ "British Empire Medal (Civil Division)". The Gazette. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Northampton man leaves the RNLI two Ferraris in his will". ITV. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  10. ^ "New Hastings lifeboat to honour mum and son's shared love of the sea". Sussex World. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
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