Littlehampton Lifeboat Station

Littlehampton Lifeboat Station is located in the town of Littlehampton, in West Sussex, on the south coast of England.The station is on the harbour side on the eastern bank of the River Arun, a quarter mile from the harbour entrance and the pier. The current lifeboat house on Fisherman's Quay was built in 2002.

A lifeboat station was first established here by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)in 1884.

The lifeboat station currently operates with two inshore lifeboats: a B-class lifeboat, Renee Sherman (B-891) and a D-class lifeboat, Ray of Hope (D-769).

History
With lifeboats placed at Hayling Island, Bembridge and Selsey, it was decided in 1884 to close the station at Chichester Harbour, and create a new station at Littlehampton. A boathouse was constructed for £311-1s-7d, on a site provided by the War Department, on the east bank of the River Arun, near what is now the Harbour Park amusement park.

The 32-foot 'pulling and sailing' (P&S) lifeboat (a lifeboat using oars and sail, with no engine), James and Elizabeth, by this time already 19 years old, was transferred from Chichester on 25 August 1884. The boat, manned by fishermen and local coastguard, was paraded around the town to the station, where she was renamed Undaunted. On station for only 4 years, she would be launched just twice, but was not required to rescue anyone.

A new 34-foot lifeboat, James, Mercer and Elizabeth (ON 172), was placed at Littlehampton in 1888. On 2 November 1901, the lifeboat was launched to the aid of the brigantine Amy of Plymouth, on passage from Sunderland to Exeter with a cargo of coal, and now driven ashore ashore. With extreme difficulty, the Littlehampton lifeboat got along side, and rescued the crew of six. In the poor conditions, the boat was beached at East Preston, and later returned to station on her carriage. This lifeboat would rescue 12 people in her 16 years on station.

In 1903, the Coastguard site at Littlehampton was re-developed, and a row of terraced cottages were constructed along what became Coastguard road. The boathouse had to be moved, and was reconstructed at the end of the terrace, at the junction with Arun Parade, at a cost of £240. A new 35-foot lifeboat was placed at Littlehampton in 1904, provided from the legacy of Mr. Francis J. Freeman, of Abbey Road, St John's Wood, London, and named Brothers Freeman (ON 531). The boat would be launched 14 times in the next 17 years, and rescue 10 lives.

Following the retirement in November 1918 of Coxswain G. J. Pelham, who had served in this role since the station opened in 1884, and also Second (and latterly Acting) Coxswain Alonzo Allen in January 1919, Honorary Secretary Mr. Griffiths reported that no replacement officers were appointed to the lifeboat, and finding a crew was proving extremely difficult. Littlehampton lifeboat station was closed temporarily in February 1921. However, with a motor-lifeboat planned to be placed at Selsey in 1922, Littlehampton Lifeboat Station was closed on 5 December 1921. Brothers Freeman (ON 531) was withdrawn, and transferred to Plymouth.

Reopening and Blue Peter appeals
Increased leisure boating in the area led to a corresponding rise in marine rescues, including swimmers and small craft washed out to sea, necessitating a faster local response. The Littlehampton lifeboat station was re-opened in 1967, as an Inshore lifeboat station, operating a D-class lifeboat, housed in a garage on the east bank of the river Arun.

The cost was defrayed by a fundraising appeal on the BBC TV programme Blue Peter. The lifeboat was named Blue Peter I (D-115). The original Blue Peter I lifeboat would come to be replaced five times, with subsequent lifeboats being of the larger twin-engined Atlantic type. Funded each time by appeals on Blue Peter, each replacement lifeboat retained the name Blue Peter I until 2016.

1979–present
In 1979, a new boathouse was built for the station near Fishermen's Quay, enabling quick launch down a short ramp into the Arun.

In 2002, the station underwent a large re-development to fit in with the recent waterside changes in the area. The new station has been designed specifically as a two-boat station at a cost of £550,000. At this time, the station was provided with a B-class lifeboat, Blue Peter I (B-779), at a cost of £100,000.

A new D-class Inshore lifeboat, Spirit of Juniper (D-631), was donated by the Campaign for Real Gin in 2004, at a cost of £25,000, and served until 2014. She was replaced by Ray of Hope (D-769), a later version of the D-Class IB1, funded by a private donor at a cost of £42,000.

The final Blue Peter I was replaced in 2016 by a B-class boat, Rennee Sherman (B-891).

The Littlehampton lifeboat station was the busiest in the West Sussex area, with 61 call outs in 2020 and 913 between 2008 and 2020.

Station honours
The following are awards made at Littlehampton


 * RNLI Gold Medal
 * Lt. Timothy Macnamara, RN, coastguard - 1840


 * RNLI Silver Medal
 * Lt. George Davies, RN, coastguard - 1840


 * The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
 * C R Cole, crew member - 1970
 * C J Pelham, crew member - 1970


 * David William Woollven, Helmsman - 1982

All-weather lifeboats

 * Station Closed in 1921
 * Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.