# 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 (Atlantic 85) lifeboat, Renee Sherman (B-891) and a D-class (IB1) 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 (RFD PB16) 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 (Atlantic 75) lifeboat, Blue Peter I (B-779), at a cost of £100,000.
A new D-class (IB1) 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 (Atlantic 85) 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

## Littlehampton lifeboats
### All-weather lifeboats

| ON | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
| Pre-435 | Undaunted | 1884–1888 | 32-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | Previously stationed at Chichester Harbour. |
| 172 | James, Mercer and Elizabeth | 1888–1904 | 34-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | |
| 531 | Brothers Freeman | 1904–1921 | 35-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | |
    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.

### Inshore lifeboats
#### D-class

| Op.No. | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
| D-115 | Blue Peter I | 1967–1972 | D-class (RFD PB16) | D-class withdrawn, B-class placed on station in 1972 |
| D-431 | Veronica | 2003–2004 | D-class (EA16) | D-class reintroduced, placed on station in 2003 |
| D-458 | Maureen Samuels | 2004 | D-class (EA16) | |
| D-631 | Spirit of Juniper | 2004–2014 | D-class (IB1) | |
| D-769 | Ray of Hope | 2014– | D-class (IB1) | |

#### B-class

| Op.No. | Name | In service | Class |
| B-504 | Blue Peter I | 1972–1973 | B-class (Atlantic 21) |
| B-517 | Blue Peter I | 1973–1974 | B-class (Atlantic 21) |
| B-523 | Blue Peter I | 1974–1985 | B-class (Atlantic 21) |
| B-564 | Blue Peter I | 1985–2001 | B-class (Atlantic 21) |
| B-779 | Blue Peter I | 2002–2016 | B-class (Atlantic 75) |
| B-891 | Renée Sherman | 2016– | B-class (Atlantic 85) |
* ↑ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
* 1 2 Op.No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

## Gallery

* The Littlehampton Atlantic 75-class lifeboat Blue Peter 1 (B-779) being retrieved by the stations TC45 tractor in its launch cradle on the slipway outside the lifeboat station at Fishermen’s Quay on the banks of the River Arun.
* The Littlehampton D-class Spirit of Juniper (D-631) was on station from 2004 to 2014, here inside the boathouse at Fishermen’s Quay, Littlehampton.
* Rennee Sherman (B-891) being launched in a cradle in the river Arun, Littlehampton Lifeboat Station, 9 May 2016.
* Rennee Sherman (B-891) in the river Arun heading out to sea, 9 May 2016.
* Rennee Sherman (B-891) being launched from Littlehampton Lifeboat Station, 9 May 2016.

## Neighbouring Station Locations

vteNeighbouring Stations to Littlehamton :
West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex
Selsey Lifeboat Station
Littlehampton Lifeboat Station
Shoreham Harbour Lifeboat Station
English Channel
English Channel
English Channel :