Selsey Lifeboat Station

Selsey Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in Selsey, West Sussex on the south coast of England.

The station operates a Shannon-class lifeboat 13-20 Denise and Eric (ON 1327), launched via the Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS) from the main boathouse onshore at Kingsway, Selsey. The station also operates a D-class inshore lifeboat, RNLB Flt Lt John Buckley RAF (D-827).

In 2017, Selsey received a new 25 knot (29 mph) Shannon Class Lifeboat after almost 34 years of service by Tyne-class lifeboats RNLB City of London (ON 1074) and RNLB Voluntary Worker (ON 1146) the longest of any RNLI station.

1861–World War II
The lifeboat service in Selsey was established in 1861 with RNLB The Friend, which was launched from the beach by means of skids. For the station's first 25 years the lifeboat's Coxswain was James Lawrence.

In 1925 work began on the construction of a new boathouse built on a piled platform with a gangway from the shore, which had a trolley track. In 1927 the boathouse was re-built again to house the station's new motor lifeboat.

During the Second World War, the station's crew and lifeboats were involved in many rescues. Watson-class lifeboat RNLB Canadian Pacific (ON 803) launched approximately 50 times, often to rescue pilots from fallen aeroplanes. On 11 July 1940, the lifeboat rescued John Peel, the commanding officer of RAF 145 Squadron, minutes after he abandoned his damaged Hurricane (P3400) off Selsey Bill.

1952–1987: improvements and inshore service
Between 1952 and 1953, the boathouse's substructure was strengthened and the slipway was lengthened. The boathouse was rebuilt in 1958 with reinforced concrete as the old structure had become unsafe due to years of coastal erosion. The deep water roller slipway was re-configured to have a gradient of 1:5, and the station was given a newly fabricated steel approach gangway from the shore.

In March 1968, an inshore lifeboat rescue division was established at Selsey. The new inshore lifeboat was launched on a newly constructed gangway to the eastern side of the main slipway. The first inshore lifeboat was a D-class lifeboat. RNLB Canadian Pacific (ON 803) was withdrawn from Selsey in 1969 to serve in the RNLI relief fleet. Then in 1977 she was sold out of the service.

A new boathouse was constructed for the inshore lifeboat in 1987.

2011–present: 150th anniversary and onwards
In 2011, the RNLI celebrated Selsey's 150th anniversary as a continuously active lifeboat station.

In the summer of 2017, a new Selsey boathouse was built on shore at the Kingsway, which allowed all elements of the RNLI at Selsey to come together on a single site for the first time. The old Slipway station was demolished and removed between June and July 2017. In July 2017, the station received a new Shannon-class lifeboat, Denise and Eric, and the Tyne-class lifeboat Voluntary Worker was retired and sold out of service.

Station Honours
The following are among the RNLI medals and other awards presented to crew members from Selsey Lifeboat Station: