| Selsey Lifeboat Station | |
| Map Type: | West Sussex |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Location: | Chichester District, South East England, West Sussex |
| Location Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 50.7272°N -0.7789°W |
| Building Type: | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
| Opened Date: | 1861 |
| Owner: | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Selsey Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station[1] located in Selsey, West Sussex on the south coast of England.[2]
The station operates a 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 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 lifeboats RNLB City of London (ON 1074) and RNLB Voluntary Worker (ON 1146) the longest of any RNLI station.
The lifeboat service in Selsey was established in 1861 with RNLB The Friend, which was launched from the beach by means of skids.[3] For the station's first 25 years the lifeboat's Coxswain was James Lawrence.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6] [7] 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.[8] [9]
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.[10]
In March 1968, an inshore lifeboat rescue division was established at Selsey.[11] The new inshore lifeboat was launched on a newly constructed gangway to the eastern side of the main slipway.[11] The first inshore lifeboat was a D-class lifeboat.[12] RNLB Canadian Pacific (ON 803) was withdrawn from Selsey in 1969 to serve in the RNLI relief fleet.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.[13]
A new boathouse was constructed for the inshore lifeboat in 1987.[5]
In 2011, the RNLI celebrated Selsey's 150th anniversary as a continuously active lifeboat station.[14]
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 lifeboat, Denise and Eric, and the lifeboat Voluntary Worker was retired and sold out of service.
| ON | Op.No.. | Name | In service[15] | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | Friend | 1861–1865 | 29-foot 1in Self-righting (P&S) | [16] |
| – | – | Friend Four Sisters | 1865–1885 | 32-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
| 37 | – | John and Henry Skynner | 1885–1896 | 34-foot 5in Self-righting (P&S) | |
| 360 | – | Lucy Newbon | 1894–1919 | 40-foot Self-righting (P&S) | Selsey (Bognor) |
| 394 | – | Reserve No.3 | 1919–1922 | 40-foot Self-righting (P&S) | Formerly Civil Service No.4 at Walmer |
| 673 | – | Jane Holland | 1922–1929 | 40-foot Self-righting (motor) | |
| 714 | – | Canadian Pacific | 1929–1937 | Formerly H.F.Bailey II, No.1. Destroyed by fire at Groves & Guttridge boatyard 18 June 1937 | |
| 671 | – | The Brothers | 1937–1938 | Relief fleet boat. Ex, | |
| 803 | – | Canadian Pacific | 1938–1969 | Replacement for ON 714 | |
| 1015 | 48-12 | Charles Henry | 1969–1983 | 48-foot 6in Oakley Mk.II | |
| City of London | |||||
| 1146 | 47-031 | 2006–2017 | Ex Lytham St. Annes | ||
| 1327 | 13-20 | Denise and Eric | 2017– | Carriage launched from onshore new boathouse | |
| Op.No. | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-138 | 1970–1980 | |||
| D-277 | Sea Lion | 1981–1989 | ||
| D-382 | 1989–1998 | |||
| D-533 | Peter Cornish | 1998–2008 | ||
| D-691 | Betty and Thomas Moore | 2008–2018 | ||
| D-827 | Flt Lt John Buckley RAF | 2018– | [17] | |
The following are among the RNLI medals and other awards presented to crew members from Selsey Lifeboat Station:[18]
| Award Date | Name | Award | Note & Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1886 | Coxswain James 'Pilot' Lawrence | RNLI Silver Medal | 25 Years Service |
| June 1930 | The Lifeboat crew members | Thanks on Vellum | |
| June 1930 | Coxswain Frederick Barnes | Bronze Medal | Rescue of the Lucy B of Rye[19] |
| April 1950 | Crewman William Arnell | Thanks on Vellum & Maud Smith Award for Bravest Act | |
| November 1951 | Coxswain Leslie Pennycord | RNLI Bronze Medal | Rescue of the MV Swift of Costa Rica.[20] |
| July 1956 | The Lifeboat crew members | Thanks on Vellum | Triple Rescue of the Maalust, Bloodhound and Coima[21] |
| Coxswain Douglas Grant | RNLI Silver Medal | ||
| January 1961 | Selsey Lifeboat Station | Centenary Vellum – RNLI | |
| December 1977 | The Lifeboat crew members | Vellum service certificate | |
| December 1977 | Acting Coxswain Mike Grant | Thanks on Vellum | |
| December 1978 | The Lifeboat crew members | Vellum service certificate | |
| December 1978 | Coxswain Mike Grant | Thanks on Vellum | |
| January 1979 | The Lifeboat crew members | Medal service certificate | Rescue of the SS Cape Coast of Panama |
| Coxswain Mike Grant | RNLI Silver Medal | ||
| September 1983 | The Lifeboat crew members | Medal service certificate | The rescue of Enchantress of Hamble[22] |
| Coxswain Mike Grant | RNLI Silver Medal (Second) | ||
| October 1983 | Dave Munday | Ralph Glister Award for Meritorious Service | |
| Tony Delahunty | |||
| Nigel Osborn | |||
| October 1983 | The ILB crew members | Framed letter of thanks | |
| October 1983 | Helmsman Dave Munday | RNLI Bronze Medal | The rescue of the Joan Maureen[23] |
| March 1984 | Mechanic Ron Wells | 25 years Service Award and the British Empire Medal | |
| May 1984 | D Cockayn – hon. Sec. | 20 years Service Gold Badge | |
| January 1988 | Molly Woods | 30 years Service Gold Badge | |
| January 1995 | Ron Carbines | Dedicated Service Gold Badge | |
| January 1998 | Dr Andrew Warwick – Medical Officer | Dedicated Service Gold Badge | |
| January 1999 | Jean Warwick | Dedicated Service Gold Badge | |
| Clive Cockayne | |||
| January 2011 | Selsey Lifeboat Station | 150 years Vellum | 150 years as a continuously active lifeboat station |
| January 2012 | Clive Cockayne | Bar to Dedicated Service Gold Badge | |