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History &
Awards
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The
Battle lifeboats |
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Established |
1865 |
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Closed |
1924 |
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Re-opened |
1975 |
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Between
1865 and 2007, the Hayling Island
lifeboats have launched 2062 times
saving 520 lives. |
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Since 1865
the following Medals and Awards have
been presented to Hayling Island
Lifeboat crew. |
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Silver
Medals |
7 |
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Bronze
Medals |
3 |
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Thanks
on Vellum |
6 |
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Framed
Letter of Thanks |
4 |
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Ralph
Glister Award |
4 |
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Walter
& Elizabeth Groombridge Award |
2 |
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The station
opened in 1865 on representations of the
Rector, the Rev Charles Hardy and others
that a number of wrecks occurred in the
vicinity. |
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1862 |
Silver
Medals were awarded to William Goldring,
James Spraggs and David Farmer for a
service on 17 October 1862. When the
Portsmouth Sloop Cygnet sank on
the Woolsiner Sandbank her crew of three
men were seen clinging to her rigging
with sea washing over them. The sloop
had become unmanageable after
encountering a heavy gale, and striking
a shoal, was overwhelmed by heavy waves
and began to break up. After an
unsuccessful attempt to reach the
casualty in his smack Captain Goldring
launched her skiff and together with two
crew rescued the three men who had been
marooned for over five hours. |
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1865 |
The lifeboat
house was constructed at a cost of £250 on
the south side of Hayling Island. It is now the
pub "The Inn on the Beach". |
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A Silver Medal
was awarded to Major F W Festing of the
Royal Marine Artillery, in admiration of
his intrepid conduct in putting off in
an open boat with 12 fishermen and
rescuing three of the crew of the
schooner Ocean which was wrecked
during gale force winds on the Woolsiner
Shoal near Hayling Island on 14 January
1865. |
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1909 |
An acetylene
beach lamp was supplied |
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1913 |
A new lifeboat
house was constructed on a site 3/4 mile
further east at a cost of £900 which is
now used as a TA training unit in front
of the present HM Coastguard Station. |
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1924 |
The station
was closed when motor lifeboats were
placed at Bembridge and Selsey. |
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1975 |
The station
re-opened on 25 March as an inshore
lifeboat station with an Atlantic 21
class lifeboat. |
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1978 |
Framed
Letters of Thanks signed by the Chairman
of the Institution were awarded to Helmsman
Paddy Lamperd, the Honorary Medical
Adviser, Dr Richard Newman and crew
members Frank Dunster and Brian Quinton
in recognition of the service carried
out by them when the inshore lifeboat
rescued a man and his son from the cabin
cruiser Tomey Too on 3 January
1978. |
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1981 |
A Bronze
Medal was awarded to Helmsman Frank
Dunster in recognition of his courage
and seamanship when the lifeboat rescued
the crew of four from the yacht
Fitz's Flyer in a south-westerley
gale and a rough sea on 14 December
1981. Two attempts to take the lifeboat
alongside the yacht's port and lee sides
were unsuccessful due to large seas. On
the third attempt, two crew were rescued
and it took four more attempts to snatch
a third man. A further run was made to
pick up the yacht's skipper. Thanks of
the Institution inscribed on Vellum
accorded to crew members Trevor Pearce
and Graham Wickham. The Ralph Glister
Award was also awarded for this service. |
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1982 |
A Silver
Medal was awarded to crew member
Roderick James and a Bronze
Second-Service Clasp was awarded to
Helmsman Frank Dunster for services on
19 September 1981. In a south-easterly
near gale a teenage boy was seen
clinging to the post of a groyne 20
yards out to sea with very rough
confused seas breaking over him. Two
attempts to rescue the boy by shore
helpers and four attempts by the lifeboat
was unsuccessful. Then when the lifeboat
came to within 30ft and the exhausted
boy let go and disappeared Roderick
James entered the water, grabbed him and
made for the shore where the shore crew
were there to help them. Thanks of the
Institution inscribed on Vellum were
accorded to crew member Graham Raines
and shore crew Trevor Pearce and Nigel
Roper. The Ralph Glister Award was also
awarded for this service. |
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1987 |
The Thanks
of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
were accorded to crew member David
Sigournay in recognition of the
seamanship displayed by him in his
expert handling of a strange and
unreliable craft which he boarded from
the lifeboat and brought safely in
to the harbour with the injured occupant in
broaching conditions on 7 December 1986. |
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1988 |
A Framed
Letter of Appreciation signed by the
Chairman of the Institution was awarded
to Helmsman Roderick James and to
Helmsman Frank Dunster in recognition of
the service on 24 September when nine
people were rescued from the 41ft ketch
Seaway Endeavour which was in
difficulties in rough breaking seas on
the East Pole Sands. Helmsman Frank
Dunster rescued five people with his own
boat Hayling Rescue and the
Atlantic 21 class lifeboat Aldershot
rescued the remaining four people. Crew
members of both the lifeboat and the
shore crew were sent letters of thanks
signed by the Chief of Operations. |
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1989 |
A Bronze
Medal was awarded to crew member Graham
Raines in recognition of the courage and
determination displayed by him when
the lifeboat assisted in the rescue of
one of the crew on the yacht
Dingaling near Chichester Bar in a
south-westerly gale and very rough seas
on 9 October 1988. In addition the
Thanks of the Institution in scribed on
Vellum were accorded to Helmsman Frank
Dunster and crew member Roderick James
for their skill and determination during
the service. The Ralph Glister Award and
the newly instituted Walter Groombridge
Award for the best Atlantic 21 class
lifeboat rescue of the previous year,
were awarded to Helmsman Frank Dunster,
crew members Graham Raines and Roderick
James, for the above service.
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1993 |
A
Second-Service Clasp to the Silver Medal
was awarded to Helmsman Roderick James,
and a Silver Medal to Frank Dunster,
helmsman of the rigid inflatable Hayling Rescue and Thanks of
the Institution inscribed on Vellum were
accorded to crew members Christopher
Reed, Warren Hayles, Evan Lamperd and
Damien Taylor and A Framed Letter of
Thanks signed by the Institution to crew
member Richard Mumford for rescuing nine
of the seventeen crew of the yacht
Donald Searle which was in
difficulties at the edge of the East
Pole Sands in a strong gale, very
rough seas and a heavy swell on 25
October 1992. The Ralph Glister
Award and the Walter and Elizabeth
Groombridge Award were awarded to
Helmsman Roderick James and crew members
Warren Hayles and Chris Reed for this
service. |
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1994 |
A new
boathouse was constructed for the
Atlantic 21 class lifeboat as well as
the "D" class lifeboat. It also provided
crew facilities, a display area/museum
and a control room. |
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1995 |
A "D" class
lifeboat was placed on temporary service
duty on 29 March. |
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An Atlantic
75 class Lifeboat B712 Betty Battle
was placed on service on 21 June and the
Atlantic 21 class lifeboat was
withdrawn. |
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1996 |
A new D
class lifeboat Leonard Stedman
was placed on service on 12 May. |
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2001 |
A Framed
letter of Thanks signed by the chairman
of the Institution was awarded to
Helmsman Graham Raines and crew member
Evan Lamperd for the rescue of a man and
a woman from a RIB aground on the West
Pole Sands. The service was conducted at
night amidst breaking waves on the
shallow sands. The other two crew
members Darren Dancer and Ian Harris received Letters of
Appreciation signed by the Chief
Executive of the Institution. |
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2003 |
RNLI
Statuette awarded to Nigel Roper,
Lifeboat Operations Manager |
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2004 |
Graham
Raines appointed MBE, presented by HM
The Queen in November |
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2005 |
A new D
Class (IB1) lifeboat "Amanda,
James & Ben" placed on station in May |
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2007 |
Hayling
Island Lifeboat Station awarded "Freedom
of the Harbour" by Chichester Harbour
Conservancy |
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2007 |
RNLI
Statuette awarded to Peter Glasby,
Chairman of the Lifeboat Management
Group |
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2007 |
A Letter of
Thanks from the Director of Operations
awarded to Ian Fiddaman, Helm, and
a Collective Letter of Thanks to crew members; Peter Hanscombe, Bob Hoskins & Gemma McIntyre,
for their part in a
difficult and successful rescue in
November 2006. |
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2007 |
Extension to
the lifeboat station completed in
December. |
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2009 |
RNLI
Statuette awarded to Ron Caldicot,
Deputy Launching Authority |
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2009 |
A new
Atlantic 85 B Class Lifeboat "Derrick
Battle" placed on station in February |
