In pictures: 200 years of the RNLI at one of the country’s oldest Lifeboat stations
By Izzi Vaughan
Published 6th Mar 2024, 14:40 BST
Updated 6th Mar 2024, 15:53 BST
Newhaven Lifeboat was established in May 1803, predating the 1824 founding of the RNLI, making it one of the oldest lifeboat stations in the country.
The RNLI took operational responsibility of the station in 1854, and is now celebrating its 200th Anniversary which fell on March 4.
The crews have been awarded 19 medals for gallantry in it’s 221 year history. Most recently, Coxswain Ian Johns was awarded the MBE for services to Maritime Safety in the New Years honours in 2012.
On Saturday March 9, the volunteers of Newhaven Lifeboat are inviting the public to join them in their celebrations.
Hosted at The Marine Workshops, Newhaven, tickets are £25 per person and include a welcome drink, food by Sussex's very own Humble Pie and music by local live band Double Tap.
Tickets to the ‘RNLI Newhaven 200th Anniversary Party’ are available on Eventbrite. Guests will have the opportunity to meet the crew, both past and present, and discover the history of the RNLI.
On Saturday March 9, the volunteers of Newhaven Lifeboat are inviting the public to join them in their celebrations.
5. Crew and volunteers, 2023
Newhaven Lifeboat crew and volunteers, October 2023. Back row, left to right: James Cox, Katherine Nash, Christopher Moore, Lewis Arnold (Coxswain), Rich White, Chris Glasspool, Ash Kristiansen, Alex Beckett, Adam Doughty (Launch Authority), Dan Pollard, John Simcock. Front row, left to right: Claire Townsend, Nick Gentry (receiving 40-year long service medal), Roger Cohen MBE (Lifeboat Operations Manager), Lee Blacknell (Second Coxswain, receiving 20-year long service medal), Jane Masey (Water Safety Officer), Danny Woodford, Jo Goode, Sam Briggs. Photo: Newhaven RNLI
6. The Emma Louise
The ‘Emma Louise’ of Hamburg ashore at Beachy Head in 1906, with the light house very close by to the right. Photo: Newhaven RNLI
7. Crew, 1897
Crew of the ‘Michael Henry III’, circa 1897. The bearded man in the centre is Coxswain Winter. The young boy looking over his shoulder is Richard Payne. When Second Coxswain S. Winter retired from the service in 1954 a family record of 100 years association with Newhaven lifeboats was interrupted. From 1854-1954 there was always a Winter in the crew. Photo: Newhaven RNLI
8. Athina B runs aground
The ‘Athina B’ was making its way for Shoreham Harbour with a cargo of 3,000 tonnes of pumice from the Azores. On the 20 January 1980, force 7-8 winds prevented her from entering the harbour. Her engines failed: a Mayday call was issued. Lifeboats were launched from Shoreham, Brighton and Newhaven. Initially four of the ship’s passengers including the captain’s wife and children were rescued. It was the following night in force 8-10 winds that the last of the crew were rescued. The ship had run aground on Brighton beach between the Palace Pier and Banjo Groyne in the south westerly storm’s heavy surf. All 26 people aboard the ship were rescued without loss of life by Shoreham RNLI’s ‘Dorothy and Philip Constant’ and crew.For a time, the ‘Athina B’ became a popular tourist attraction with thousands making their way to Brighton beach to catch a glimpse of the stranded hulk. Such was the interest, enterprising individuals sought to make money from the unseasonal surge in visitors: even Volk’s Electric Railway ran trains outside of its usual summer operations for additional income. On February 21, exactly a month since the ‘Athina B’ was beaching, the tide swelled, and the ship was towed back out to sea. Eventually it was scrapped in Kent, but its anchor remains as a reminder of the event on the Brighton promenade. Photo: Newhaven RNLI