Hastings Lifeboat Station

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.

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 Inshore lifeboat, Richard Francis (D-835).

History
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.

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.

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.

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.

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'.



Hastings was one of the first stations to receive one of the small fast D-class (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 (D-226).

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.



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:


 * A silver 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, sold for £1.93m
 * A red 1960 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).

Notable rescues
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.

Station honours
The following are awards made at Hastings


 * RNLI Gold Medal
 * 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


 * RNLI Silver Medal
 * Alfred Stonham, Fisherman - 1904


 * John Herbert William Martin, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1975


 * Dr Peter Davy - 1974


 * RNLI Bronze Medal
 * John Edward Muggeridge, Coxswain - 1943
 * William R Hilder, Motor Mechanic - 1943


 * George Douglas White, Second Coxswain - 1975


 * John H Martin, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1985


 * Bronze Medal awarded by the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust
 * 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


 * Testimonial on Parchment awarded by The Royal Humane Society
 * S Ferguson, Police Sergeant - 1965


 * Resuscitation Certificate awarded by The Royal Humane Society
 * S Ferguson, Police Sergeant - 1965
 * John H Martin, Motor Mechanic - 1965


 * British Empire Medal
 * John Herbert William Martin, Coxswain Mechanic - 1987

All-weather lifeboats

 * Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.