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Footprints on the Sands of Time - reflecting on the heroes who have gone before

Lifeboats News Release

Littlestone RNLI crew came together on Remembrance Sunday to honour the many RNLI volunteers who have gone before us. This year is the 200th anniversary of the RNLI and our charity has saved on average, two lives every day over the last two centuries.

A black and white photo of an open rowing boat as used in the 1890's

RNLI

Littlestone RNLI lifeboat Sandal Magna in 1893

As we remember the many RNLI crew members who have given their lives over the last 200 years, we also give thanks for the generous support of the public. Because of your support, our lifeboats and kit have evolved over the years to the much safer equipment that we have today, but going to sea can still be dangerous for our volunteers. Like those who have gone before us we volunteer selflessly with the same purpose; to save lives at sea.

In this, our 200th year, we at Littlestone are focusing on events that our local RNLI crews were involved in one hundred and thirty-three years ago on our Romney Marsh coast. The humbling description of the incidents was recorded by Edward Carpenter in his article Footprints on the Sand of Time GALLANTRY ON THE ROMNEY MARSH COAST IN THE STORMS OF 1891 which appeared in The Lifeboat -The Journal of the RNLI, Volume XLVI of the Number 468.

The first event took place on 9 March 1891 and resulted in the tragic loss of three lifeboat crew from Littlestone RNLI. The RNLI lifeboat The Sandal Magna was launched when the schooner Hugh Barclay of Fleetwood was sighted in trouble at about seven o'clock in the morning. The lifeboat crew attempted to launch into waves that were said to have been 20 feet high when crashing onto the beach. The lifeboat encountered difficulty in making any progress and was overturned by the waves with the loss of three lives. These brave lifeboat crew, who were Coastguards, were laid to rest in New Romney churchyard and our volunteers visited the gravestones were visited on Remembrance Sunday. We have a model of the Sandal Magna on display in our boathouse and it is awe inspiring to think of volunteers heading out into dreadful weather in an open rowing boat.

The second event took place on the morning of 11 November 1891. The south coast and inland areas were enduring hurricane force winds, and the Dungeness RNLI lifeboat crew were called upon to help in a number of rescues. The Swedish brigantine Aeolus (God of the Winds) with a crew of eight was caught on the treacherous sandbank off Lade. They launched and reached Aeolus, but the force of the wind made it impossible to bring her alongside. She was blown past the wreck for about a mile and capsized with the loss of two lifeboat crew. The remaining crew made it back to shore and once they had been taken care of, the general talk on the beach was of making another attempt to rescue the crew of Aeolus by taking the Littlestone lifeboat, Santa Magna.

It seemed like sure death to make another attempt at a rescue and one man said, ' You must be mad, there's been quite enough drowned for one day.' But seeing men clinging to the rigging was just too much for the men on the beach. Isaac Tart took the initiative to form a crew. 'It's no use, lads,' he said. 'It may be sure death to go in Sandal Magna, I dare say it is, but it shall never be said that Isaac Tart stood and watched sailors drowned without even trying to rescue them, so I'm going—now who will go with me'?' Seven coastguards stepped forward, together with Isaac's brother, Robin Tart, Charles Oilier and George Richardson, all fishermen of Dungeness, Alec Proctor, brother of Dr J. C. Proctor of Lydd, and the curate of the coast, the Reverend C. A. W. Robins.

It took four attempts to launch the Littlestone RNLI lifeboat Sandal Magna before they got afloat and then there were many times when they seemed nearly lost, but they just kept pulling. After some strenuous rowing they reached Aeolus and the sailors, who had clung to their totally wrecked vessel for ten hours. These men had almost given up hope when the lifeboat crew plucked them from the rigging. All safe aboard, the cry was then, 'Pull for the shore!' Having achieved the seemingly impossible, they still needed to reach safety. They put all the energy they could muster into their rowing and, after a long time, the shore suddenly loomed up and the lifeboat was scraping onto the beach.

The King of Sweden had a special medal struck and Lloyd's awarded a bronze medal for the courageous conduct of that day. Coxswain James George Lucas was awarded the RNLI's silver medal. At the funeral service for Henry Reeves and Daniel Nicol it was said of them: 'They rest from their labours, and their works do follow them. They have gone down to the grave but have left behind them in meek and lowly example, footprints on the sand of time'. These words could be equally aptly applied to all those people of the beach who took part in the 1891 rescues.

A black and white picture of the lifeboat being readied for service after a shout at night

RNLI/John Kenny

Present day Littlestone RNLI lifeboat and volunteer crew

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.

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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.