Sea Palling Independent Lifeboat

Our team of dedicated volunteers donate their time and skills to save and protect lives along our coast. Our crew is drawn from the local area and from all walks of life. Some of us have come from a seafaring background, others from more land based professions.

There are approximately 15 people on the crew, a mix of boat crew, shore crew, fundraisers and committee members.

Sea Palling Independent Lifeboat History Timeline

• 1840 – local fishermen were formed into two companies called blues and whites based on the colour of their oars and they purchased fast sailing “yawls” for rescue and salvage work. Back in those days the first to arrive to a stricken vessel got the wreckage rights with intense rivalry between families.

• 1842 – on 16^th December during a hurried launch a boat capsized with the loss of 5 crew.

• 1843 – in January the rival company lost 7 crew: the two companies combined until Sea Palling was taken over in 1852.

• 1852 – marine salvage insurance money was gained from saving sailors and salvaging goods from local ship wrecks as well as wood to build new ships.

• 1858 – both rescue crews come under the RNLI.

• 1864 – lifeboat PARSEE.

• 1870 – a new, 2^nd lifeboat station was built and a 2^nd boat, ‘British Workman’ – paid for by a periodical magazine – was built, designed to handle heavier seas around Happisburgh sands.

• 1875 – 7^th February: British Workman was at sea for 14 hours.

• 1884 to 1887 – British Workman saved 82 lives.

• 1870 to 1893 – British Workman in its 23^rd year of service saved 321 lives!

• 1893 – both boats were replaced by ‘Good Hope’ for inshore work and ‘Hearts Of Oak’ and had assistance from a shore-based rocket lifesaving crew.

• 1899 – Walter Pestell, of Palling, Norfolk, (who died on 25th February 1931, at the age of eighty-five), joined the Palling Life-boat Crew at the age of eighteen.

• 1870 – Walter Pestell was appointed Coxswain and served until 1899, when he retired at the age of fifty-three. During the twenty-nine years of his Coxswainship the Palling Station rescued 445 lives from shipwreck. Coxswain Pestell was awarded the Silver Medal, for general services, in 1893, and a Clasp to the Medal when he retired.

• 1894 – on 5^th January 2^nd Coxswain Tom Bishop was awarded a silver medal for rescuing 6 men from brigantine ‘Sophia’ .

• 1917 – Good Hope was replaced by 54^th West Norfolk Regiment having saved 104 lives and being awarded 5 silver medals.

• 1920 – Introduction of powered lifeboats at Cromer and Gorleston.

• 1929 – Hearts Of Oak  was removed from service having only done 1 rescue in 11 years.

• 1931 – 54^th ‘West Norfolk Regiment’ was removed from service. During its 91 years of service it was one of the busiest, saving 795 lives in over 400 launches – only two other stations can beat that figure.

• 1972 – 2 girls sadly drowned swimming off Sea Palling.

• 1974 – a new station opened with its first boat the ‘Hearts of Oak’.

• 2008 – a new rigid was purchased by the Hoveton and Wroxham Lions called ‘Lions Roar’.

• 2011 –  on 1st September Lions Roar hit a submerged rock during night training and was written off.

• 2012 – new boat launched in May costing £22,000 named ‘Lion Heart’.

• 2017 – A quad bike was added to the squad and Arancia surf rescue lifeboat launched named ‘Ros Clipston’. This boat was purchased specifically for working in and around the reefs of Sea Palling.

• 2022 – Lion Heart replaced with new ‘Lifeboat Canon Portal’.