Hunstanton Lifeboat Station is located in the village of

Old Hunstanton Old Hunstanton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 47 in 25 households at the 2001 census. The population had risen to 628 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local ...

, in the English county of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. It is the only lifeboat station on the east coast of England which faces westward, being positioned on the east side of the square-mouthed bay and

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

known as

The Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...

.Hunstanton Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher:Tempus Publishing, First edition,2008. Works: History of The Lifeboat Station in Hunstanton. ISBN 9 780752 447490Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 250 - Norfolk Coast West''. . A lifeboat was first placed at Hunstanton in 1824 by the Norfolk Shipwreck Association. Management of the station was transferred to the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

(RNLI) in 1867. operated lifeboat station The station currently has two lifeboats: H-class

Hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

''Hunstanton Flyer (Civil Service No. 45)'' (H-003), on station since 2003, and a lifeboat, ''Spirit of West Norfolk'' (B-848), since 23 May 2011.

History

1824–1900: origins and expansion

The first lifeboat station to be established in

Hunstanton Hunstanton (sometimes pronounced ) is a seaside resort, seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash. Hunstanton lies 102 miles (164 km) north-north-east of London an ...

was formed by the Norfolk Shipwreck Association in 1824.''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 1, East Coast of England – Berwick to Hastings, Page 43, Hunstanton. ''Hunstanton Lifeboats''. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Tempus Publishing, First edition, 2008. Works: History of The Lifeboat Station in Hunstanton, Page 13 – The first lifeboat. In 1867 the RNLI took over the running of the station and constructed a new boathouse close to the location of the original, which by then had been demolished. A local committee was formed to run the station.Hunstanton Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Tempus Publishing, First edition,2008. Works: History of The Lifeboat Station in Hunstanton, Page 14 – The first lifeboat. ISBN 9 780752 447490 The RNLI station's first lifeboat was the RNLB ''Licensed Victualler'', which was funded from donations by the

Licensed Victualler A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord applies ...

’ Lifeboat Fund, which along with its equipment, was delivered free of charge to the station by the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

. She was on station from 1867 to 1887, during which time she was launched 21 times and saved 86 lives. The second lifeboat, also funded by the Licensed Victuallers, was the RNLB ''Licensed Victualler''(ON 169), which was on station from November 1887 until July 1900.Hunstanton Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher:Tempus Publishing, First edition,2008. Works: Appendix I. Pulling Lifeboats, Page 90. ISBN 9 780752 447490 In 1900, the lifeboat station was allocated a new, larger lifeboat, necessitating a bigger boathouse. Land was acquired from the local

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

to build the new facility, which had a watch-room above the boat bay and a concrete runway down to the chalk roadway that led down to the beach. The construction cost a total of £647. The old station house was put to use as a beach shop and café, which it still is to this day. The new lifeboat arrived on 30 July 1900, having been in storage in London since its launch and fitting out in February of the same year. She was again delivered free of cost by the Great Eastern Railway, including a launching carriage supplied by the Bristol Wagon Works Co. The new lifeboat was again funded by and named for the Licensed Victuallers, as the RNLB ''Licensed Victualler'' (ON 440). She was a standard self-righting ten-oared pulling lifeboat, 35-foot in length with a beam of 8-foot 3in and a depth of 4-foot. She had two water ballast tanks, a drop keel, and eight relieving tubes. There was also a 10-foot steel sliding keel and a 17-foot 6-in bilge keel. The boat also was fitted with a sailing mast. This lifeboat was on station from July 1900 until 1931, during which time she launched a total of 19 times and is credited with saving the lives of 20 people.Hunstanton Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher:Tempus Publishing, First edition,2008. Works=The last pulling Lifeboat 1900 -1931, Page 25. ISBN 9 780752 447490

1920s–1931: tractor trials and closure

Hunstanton's position on

, with its wide expanse of beach and

mud flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...

, made launching the lifeboat at low tide particularly difficult. The RNLI began to use Hunstanton for trials to assess the use of motorised tractors to launch lifeboats across such terrain. The first trial, on 26 March 1920, successfully tested a Clayton agricultural tractor to tow the lifeboat out to the waters edge. The first specially adapted tractor was delivered to Hunstanton before the equipment was rolled out to other stations which had similar terrain. By the early 1920s, the Hunstanton lifeboat was launched only infrequently, and the station was officially closed due to inactivity in 1931. The motor lifeboats stationed at and were deemed sufficient to cover the coast of Hunstanton and The Wash.

1970s–1996: reopening and improvements

During the 1970s, an increase in marine incidents made it clear that a lifeboat service in The Wash was once again necessary. In 1979 it was agreed that the station would re-open, so the previous boathouse was reacquired and the RNLI provided a inflatable ILB for a one-year trial.Hunstanton Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher:Tempus Publishing, First edition,2008. Works=Part 3 – Inshore Lifeboat, Reopening of the Station, page 44. ISBN 9 780752 447490 On 24 May a standard relief ILB (D-181) was sent to the station, and Hunstanton lifeboat station was officially reopened in June 1979. In April 1980, another D-class ILB (D-126) was sent to the station. The relaunched station was considered a strong success, and in 1982, the RNLI sent a Inshore lifeboat on trial, together with a new drive-on drive-off (DO-DO) trailer and a new Talus MB-764 County tractor, to launch the ILB.Hunstanton Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher:Tempus Publishing, First edition,2008. Works=Part 3 – Inshore Lifeboat, Upgrading the station, page 47 to 67. ISBN 9 780752 447490 In December 1982, a new lifeboat arrived to replace the Atlantic 21. She was named ''Spirit of America'' (B-556) on 11 May 1983 by Vice Admiral Donald D. Engen, a retired

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer and the former president of the Association for Rescue at Sea. More improvements were made to the facilities in 1996. The ''Spirit of America'' was refitted with more powerful 70 horse power engines and

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

equipment, returning to the station on 2 December 1996.

2001–present

In 2001, Hunstanton was one of five lifeboat stations chosen for evaluation trials on a rescue

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

, the others being , , and . The hovercraft spent approximately two weeks at each station where local crew members were shown how to fly the craft. The trials at Hunstanton were considered a success, and on 2 May 2003, the ''Hunstanton Flyer (Civil Service No. 45)'' (H-003) arrived on station. The hovercraft was officially named on 21 May 2005 and handed to the station on 25 July 2003. She had been built by Griffon of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

at a cost of £122,000, funded from the Lifeboat Fund of the staff and pensioners of the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

and

British Telecom BT Group plc (formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-li ...

. She weighs 2,500 kg and has a hull made from marine grade aluminium and fibre reinforced composite. The hovercraft is powered by twin

VW Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...

turbo diesel engines.Hunstanton Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher:Tempus Publishing, First edition,2008. Works=Part 4 – Flying to the Rescue, page 82 to 88. ISBN 9780752447490 In the Queen's

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

of 2007, Chair of the Hunstanton Ladies Guild, Margaret Lumley Bullen (née Boulton) was awarded the MBE, for services to charity. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she had worked with the code-breakers at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

, a secret she kept for 50 years.

Station honours

The following are awards made at Hunstanton *

RNLI Bronze Medal A number of awards have been established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) since its creation in 1824. None are approved by the Crown, and are therefore unofficial awards. As such, they do not appear in the official British order ...

::Alan John Clarke, Helmsman – 1985 ::Alan John Clarke, Helmsman – 1988 (Second-Service clasp) *The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum ::Alan John Clarke, Helmsman – 1990 *

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

Certificate of Merit ::A Clarke – 1981 ::A Osborne – 1981 ::J Connors – 1981 * Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) ::David Thomas Harrison, Lifeboat Operations Manager – 2004NYH ::Margaret Lumley Bullen, Hunstanton RNLI Ladies Guild – 2007QBH

Hunstanton lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

:Station Closed in 1931 :

Inshore lifeboats

D-class

B-class

Hovercraft

Launch and recovery tractors

Notes

References

External links

Hunstanton RNLI Lifeboat Station
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunstanton Lifeboat Station Hunstanton Lifeboat stations in Norfolk