Happisburgh RNLI volunteers have opened a new visitors area

On 1 August Happisburgh RNLI volunteers came together to celebrate 200 years of the RNLI, when volunteers all over the UK and Ireland also came together for One Moment One Crew - where on 1/8/24 at 18.24 each station and branch took photos of their volunteers and station to celebrate this fantastic event.

The 4 August saw the station's Open Day when it was open to welcome family, friends, locals and visitors to have fun, meet up with the volunteers and see their work first hand.

There was the opportunity to see the new visitor’s area showing the history of life saving at sea at Happisburgh since 1810 then becoming part of the RNLI in 1866. Hundreds of people visited and the station was able to raise £2,000 to keep the service ready to save lives at sea.

The Happisburgh visitor’s area is open Thursdays 10am to 1pm when members of the visits team will be on hand to give people more information. For visits outside of this time or to book a group visit, please contact the Lifeboat Visits Officer, Simon Tibble, via [email protected]

On 20 August the lifeboat station welcomed the Phoenix family; Carrie Phoenix said: 'Three generations of our family attended which included 12 of us from the ages of eight months to 71 years. We were staying at Eccles on Sea for the week as a celebration for my 70th birthday. We have spent a lot of time on this part of the Norfolk coast, and visit the RNLI Happisburgh shop regularly so were really pleased to have a tour of the station and meet some of the staff.

'It was particularly enjoyable being in the 200th anniversary year of the RNLI. We were blown away by the warm welcome and hospitality and the time obviously spent on making our visit very informative and suitable for all ages in our party.

'We had an interesting talk on the history of the Happisburgh station followed by a demonstration of the crews’ kit in the kit room, and a tour of the D class lifeboat in the boat house itself. We all had a fantastic time and it was fun for the little ones to dress up in mini crew suits and hats and pretend to helm the boat. Thank you so much to all involved, and we would thoroughly recommend a similar tour to anyone interested in the station, both young and old.'

The station's Water Safety team has also been out and about at the beaches with North Norfolk District Council and on the Broads with the Broads Authority giving out safety advice so people can enjoy the water, have fun and come home safely at the end of the day.

The best advice if you enter any water unexpectedly or get in trouble while in the water is to Float to Live, lay on your back, arms and legs spread out, head back and ears in the water, then call for help.

RNLI media contacts

· Happisburgh Lifeboat Station Volunteer Press Officer Philip Smith:

Mobile 07766007936 E-mail [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity 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 146,000 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.