Selsey Lifeboat Station is a

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

(RNLI) station located in

Selsey Selsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about eight miles (12 km) south of Chichester in West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea. It is bounde ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

on the south coast of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

.Chichester, South Harting, and Selsey OS Explorer Map 120 Folded Map. Publisher: Ordnance Survey; B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. The station operates a lifeboat ''Denise and Eric'' (ON-1327) which is launched via SLARS from the main boathouse that stands onshore at the Kingsway, Selsey. The station also operates a inshore lifeboat, RNLB ''Betty and Thomas Moore'' (D-691). In 2017, Selsey received a new 25 knot (29 mph) Shannon Class Lifeboat after almost 34 years of service by lifeboats RNLB ''City of London'' (ON-1074) and RNLB ''Voluntary Worker'' (ON-1146) the longest of any RNLI station.

History

1861–World War II

The lifeboat service in Selsey was established in 1861 with RNLB ''The Friend'', which was launched from the beach by means of skids. For the station's first 25 years the lifeboat's Coxswain was James Lawrence.''Lifeboat Gallantry'' RNLI medals and how they were won. Edited by: Barry Cox. Published: Spink, London, 1998. Page 178 – James Lawrence – Coxswain of Selsey Lifeboat. In 1925 work began on the construction of a new boathouse built on a piled platform with a gangway from the shore, which had a trolley track. In 1927 the boathouse was re-built again to house the station's new motor lifeboat. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the station's crew and lifeboats were involved in many rescues. Watson-class lifeboat RNLB ''Canadian Pacific'' (ON 803) launched approximately 50 times, often to rescue pilots from fallen aeroplanes.Strong To Save – Dramatic first-hand accounts of the RNLI lifeboat rescues around the British Isles. Authors: Kipling, Ray and Susannah. Publisher:Patrick Stephens Ltd. Date: 1998 Third print. Work: Chapter 3, The Second World War – under fire, Page 57, reference to Selsey helping Airmen. On 11 July 1940, the lifeboat rescued John Peel, the commanding officer of RAF 145 Squadron, minutes after he abandoned his damaged Hurricane (P3400) off

Selsey Bill Selsey Bill is a headland into the English Channel on the south coast of England in the county of West Sussex. The southernmost town in Sussex is Selsey which is at the end of the Manhood Peninsula and ''Selsey Bill'' is situated on the town's so ...

.Shot Down And In The Drink – RAF and Commonwealth aircrews saved from the sea 1939-1945. Author:Pitchfork, Graham. Publisher:The National Archives – Date: 2005. work: Chapter 7, The first three years, Page 80,

1952–1987: improvements and inshore service

Between 1952 and 1953, the boathouse's substructure was strengthened and the slipway was lengthened. The boathouse was rebuilt in 1958 with reinforced concrete as the old structure had become unsafe due to years of

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

. The deep water roller slipway was re-configured to have a gradient of 1:5, and the station was given a new fabricated steel approach gangway from the shore.''Heroes All!'' – The story of the RNLI. Authur: Beilby, Alec. Publisher: Patrick Stephens Ltd – Haynes Publishing Group 1992. Work: Chapter 18, The Lifeboat Stations, South and West Britain and Ireland, page 171, Selsey. In March 1968, an inshore lifeboat rescue division was established at Selsey.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 75, Selsey. The new inshore lifeboat was launched on a newly constructed gangway to the eastern side of the main slipway. The first inshore lifeboat was a D-class lifeboat. RNLB ''Canadian Pacific'' was withdrawn from Selsey in 1969 to serve in the RNLI relief fleet. Then in 1977 she was sold out of the service. A new boathouse was constructed for the inshore lifeboat in 1987.

2011–present: 150th anniversary and onwards

In 2011, the RNLI celebrated Selsey's 150th anniversary as a continuously active lifeboat station. In the summer of 2017, a new Selsey boathouse was built on shore at the Kingsway, which allowed all elements of the RNLI at Selsey to come together on a single site for the first time. The old Slipway station was demolished and removed between June and July 2017. In July 2017, the station's

Tyne-class lifeboat The Tyne-class lifeboat was a class of lifeboat that served as a part of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution fleet until 2019. They were named after the River Tyne in North East England. They were designed to be launched from slipways or op ...

''Voluntary Worker'' was replaced by a new

Shannon-class lifeboat The Shannon-class lifeboat (previously FCB2 – Fast Carriage Boat 2) is the latest class of lifeboat currently being deployed to the RNLI fleet to serve the shores of the British Isles. The Shannon class is due to replace the Mersey class carr ...

, ''Denise and Eric'', and ''Voluntary Worker'' was returned to Poole Headquarters.

Fleet

All weather lifeboats

Inshore lifeboats

Station honours

The following are among the RNLI medals and other awards presented to crew members from Selsey Lifeboat Station:RNLI Selsey: Station history
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Neighbouring station locations

References

{{reflist, 2 Lifeboat stations in West Sussex Selsey