Happisburgh Volunteers had rude awakening this morning

On arrival at the station the crew were informed by the HM Coastguard that a person was in the water at Walcott with the police on scene. At 3.48am Pete Walker the helm decided to launch the stations relief lifeboat Celia Mary with crew of George Reddell, Harry Ronald and Tom Hunn. They made best speed towards Walcott, but as they passed Happisburgh Lighthouse they were called by the Coastguard and informed that the person was out of the water and in the care of the police, so they returned to station arriving at 4.08am. They recovered the lifeboat and made ready for service again before returning home to their beds.

Pete said ‘It is not usual for our pagers to go off at this time of day, but we are on call 24/7 so it shows we are ready at any time of day, however 13 volunteers turned up to get our boat out on service’.

If you wish to support our volunteers in their role of saving lives at sea then please come to Happisburgh Lifeboat Station Cart Gap Road NR12 0QL for our Christmas Mince Pie Open Day, on Saturday 31st October, 2026 10am to 3pm. Get your Christmas cards, calendars, diaries, lots of stocking filler ideas plus there will be a Tombola. There will be mince pies, pastries, cake, coffee and tea.

RNLI Media Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Philip Smith, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for RNLI North and East, [email protected]

Clare Hopps, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for North East and East England, 07824 518641, [email protected]

Richard Grange, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for North East and East England, 07483 112015, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [email protected]

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The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.

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