
Christmas has arrived for Happisburgh RNLI volunteers as they look back on 2024
Happisburgh RNLI volunteers gathered for their Christmas meal on Sunday 24 November and reflected on their achievements in 2024.
All the Volunteers from Happisburgh Lifeboat Station joined to gather for the meal and awards presentation at Marlings Bar and Grill at Trimingham.
After enjoying a meal, 'Christmas Stormy Sam' arrived to give the children their presents, then it was time for the presentation.
The first was the Service Award, an award given for outstanding service. The Station Management Group selected a call out from 8 May 2024. All the volunteers involved were given a Service Call Recognition Certificate, this totalled thirteen crew, shore crew, and officials.
The details of the service were:
HM Coastguard paged the RNLI crew at 5.42pm to reports of two people and a dog, cut off by the tide, behind the sea defences by Happisburgh church.
The volunteers soon arrived on station and Russell Pickering, Happisburgh’s D class lifeboat, was quickly launched with Chris Risby at the helm and Pete Walker, Tom Hunn and Ellis Speirs as crew. They made their way to Town Gap, Happisburgh and assessed the situation. They found the casualties safe, but behind the granite boulders and surrounded by deep water.
Pete and Ellis were put on the beach to try and get to the casualties but this wasn’t possible owing to the deep water and they would have been unable to get the casualties out without putting them in danger. Chris was able to find a small gap in the boulders and get behind them, picking up his two crew, before getting to the casualties who were both in good spirits. Once on board the lifeboat Chris and crew got back through the gap and returned the casualties and their dog Fraiser to the Lifeboat Station at 6.40pm.
Helm, Chris Risby, said: ‘The location of the casualties was in the worst possible location for access. We had the granite boulders and the old sharp sea defences blocking access. With the rising tide and the casualties surrounded by deep water the crew used maximum concentration and dedication to use the swell to effectively get round the obstacles in a gap barely wide enough for the D class to reach them. Once on the boat and back out at sea the casualties were in good spirits including their pet dog and were thankful to all involved. It was another well executed service call working alongside Bacton Coastguard.’
The next award was the Unsung Hero, this went to Paul Sloan one of the station's tractor drivers. This was for all his work in and around the station as he is always ready to help with anything.
The Kelvin Baker Achievement award, was given to Pete Walker one of the station's helms for passing out as a helm and all the work he has done with new crew to get through their training along with the other helm. Pete said: ‘I could have not done all this without the help of the rest of the team; we are all one crew.'
Kings’ Coronation Medals were also given to volunteers.
The Chair of the Management Group went over a few of the highlights of the year which included:
the station's Open Day on 4 August which was very well attended and the Mince Pie event. This was held on a cold windy day but with supporters and volunteers still coming out to support the occasion and raise £546.75.
The new visitors centre being up and running this year with Simon Tibble in charge of the visits team. He has been doing 'a grand job' with visits large and small on station.
One example was the visit on 11 November from the 1st Aylsham Scouts with 30 members attending and having a great experience with crew helping to make it enjoyable.
Simon has also made visits off station and went to the Church in Horstead to give a talk on the present-day RNLI. Sir Edward Birkbeck has a memorial stained-glass window in the church. Sir Edward was Chairman of the RNLI from 1883 to 1908 and had a lifeboat named after him at Winterton on sea.
Another notable call-out by the station was also highlighted at the dinner:
On the 15 December two of the crew were doing their pass-out on their tier one training. Half way through, HM Coastguard received reports of people in the water and requested them to proceed to Walcott. On arrival at scene the two people had made their way to shore, the D class was beached and the crew checked them over giving them Casualty Care before handing them over to the Bacton Coastguard. They then returned to their pass-out which they both passed to a very high standard.
With the festive season fast approaching, Happisburgh RNLI's Water Safety Advisor, Philip Smith, shared the following advice: ‘If you are going swimming in the sea at this time of the year be aware of how cold the water is and the effect this will have on your body, you will not be able to swim as you normally can.
'Wear a wet suit, use a tow float bag to aid you if you get in trouble, have someone to keep an eye on you with means of calling for help - 999 and ask for the Coastguard. The RNLI volunteers are on call 24/7 ready to leave their Christmas day celebrations to help others in need.'
All Happisburgh volunteers would like to wish all the best for Christmas and a Happy New Year to their fantastic supporters.
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.