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 established here by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1884.
The lifeboat station currently operates with two inshore lifeboats: a lifeboat, Renee Sherman (B-891), on station since 2016, and a lifeboat, Spirit of Fidelity (D-902), on station since 2025.
History In a violent storm of 13 November 1840, the brig Victoria was driven ashore at Littlehampton. A line was drifted ashore, and two Coastguard officers, along with their team of men, hauled a small boat out to the wreck three times, and saved the nine men aboard. On the same day, they also waded out into the surf with lines attached, and saved five men off the sloop Lively of Poole. Ever since its founding in 1824, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), later to become the RNLI in 1854, would award medals for deeds of gallantry at sea, even if no lifeboats were involved. Lt. Timothy Macnamara was awarded the RNIPLS Gold Medal, with Lt. George Davies receiving the RNIPLS Silver Medal.
With lifeboats placed at , and , in 1884, it was decided to close the station at , 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, one with oars and sails, the 19-year-old lifeboat James and Elizabeth 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. 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 in 1922, Littlehampton Lifeboat Station closed permanently on 5 December 1921. Brothers Freeman (ON 531) was withdrawn, and transferred to .For Those In Peril – The Lifeboat Service of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Station by Station. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Silver Link Publishing Ltd, First Issue 1999. Work:Part 2, South Coast of England – Eastbourne to Weston-super-Mare, Page 74, Littlehampton.
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. An Inshore lifeboat station was established at Littlehampton in 1967. The station operated a 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.Strong to Save – Dramatic first-hand accounts of the RNLI lifeboat rescues around the British Isles. Author: Kipling, Ray and Susannah. Publisher:Patrick Stephens Ltd, re-printed addition – 1998. Work: Blue Peter to the Rescue – references to the Blue Peter appeals and involvement with the RNLI, Page 104. Never Turn Back – The RNLI since the Second World War. Author:Kipling, Ray and Susannah. Publisher:Sutton Publishing, 2006. Work: Chapter 7, page 154, From Whitehall to White City – Blue Peter book appeal,
For more information on Blue Peter lifeboats, please see:– Blue Peter lifeboats
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 River 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 lifeboat, Blue Peter I (B-779), at a cost of £100,000.
A new 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 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
RNIPLS Gold Medal Lt. Timothy Macnamara, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Littlehampton – 1840
RNIPLS Silver Medal Lt. George Davies, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Littlehampton – 1840
The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum C. R. Cole, crew member – 1970 C. J. Pelham, crew member – 1970
David William Woollven, Helm – 1982
Littlehampton lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats ON Name Built Class Comments Undaunted 1865 1884–1888 32-foot Prowse Self-Righting (P&S) 32-foot x 7-foot 5in (10-oared) Prowse-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Mr & Mrs R. West of Streatham Hill, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £210 when new.Previously at and . 172 1888 1888–1904 34-foot x 7-foot 6in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Mrs Stoker of Hull, built by Woolfe & Son, of Shadwell, London, costing £329. 531 Brothers Freeman 1904 1904–1921 35-foot Self-Righting (P&S) 35-foot x 8-foot 6in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mr F. J. Freeman of London, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £800. Station Closed in 1921
Inshore lifeboats D-class Op.No. Name Class Comments D-115 Blue Peter I 1967–1972 D-431 Veronica 2003–2004 2004 D-631 Spirit of Juniper 2004–2014 D-769 Ray of Hope 2014–2025 D-902 Spirit of Fidelity 2025–
B-class Op.No. Name Class Comments Blue Peter I 1972–1973 B-517 Blue Peter I 1973–1974 B-523 Blue Peter I 1974–1985 B-564 Blue Peter I 1985–2001 B-779 Blue Peter I 2002–2016 B-891 2016–
Gallery
Neighbouring Station Locations
See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
Notes
References
External links Littlehampton RNLI Lifeboat Station