
Portsmouth RNLI lifeboat station service of Thanksgiving 29 September at 3pm
Portsmouth lifeboat station celebrates the RNLI’s 200th anniversary with a dedicated service of thanksgiving at St James Church, Milton Road, Portsmouth, PO4 8PG on the 29th September 2024 at 3pm.
This year saw the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) will celebrate 200 years of saving lives at sea – thanks to volunteers, like those at Portsmouth lifeboat station, giving their time to save others, all funded by voluntary public donations.
This year the RNLI has revealing its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved an incredible 146,277 lives during its two centuries of lifesaving.
Portsmouth RNLI lifeboat station was establised in it’s current location at Eastney in 1965 and in that time its crews have launched the lifeboats 4197 times and saved 770 lives.
The first lifeboat station in Portsea opened in 1886 and was known as Southsea Lifeboat station and was operated by the RNLI. The first lifeboat was called “Heyland” and she was a 10 oared self-righting pulling lifeboat. She was the first of three lifeboats to serve at Southsea.
The Southsea station was closed in 1918 when the RNLI decided that the area would be adequately covered by the stations at Hayling and Bembridge, However with the increases in traffic and the introduction of inflatable boats that required smaller crews led to the re-establishment of the station in May 1965 in its current location.
By 1967 the station was operating two rigid hull inshore lifeboats with the craft being kept at permanent anchor in the harbour at Eastney.
In 1975 the station was provided with a new boat house to keep the stations newly allocated Atlantic and D-class lifeboats. The previous ILB which had been moored afloat were withdrawn from the service.
This boat house was re-developed in 1991 which provided the staff and crews with a changing/drying room, new toilet and shower facilities and a first aid reception room. Also within the building there is a workshop, training and briefing room and a station office
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A Service of Thanksgiving to mark 200 years of the RNLI will take place at St James Church, Southsea on 29th September at 3pm.
The Service will be supported by RNLI Portsmouth’s own Chaplin Fr John Strain and will be attended by representatives from RNLI lifesaving communities and the Volunteers from Portsmouth RNLI Lifeboat Station.
We are also joined by the local choir AChoired Taste (www.achoired-taste.com) with sea shanties sung by the Selsey Shantymen (selseyshantymen.co.uk) along with RNLI stories, thanks and prayers read by our volunteers.
Luke Kierman from Portsmouth RNLI Lifeboat Station says:
‘We invite the local community and residents to join the families, voluntineers and crew of Portsmouth RNLI lifeboat station to celebrate the 200 years of the RNLI and its work of saving lives and specifically celebrating our local station here in Portsmouth which has saved 770 lives’
‘Following of from the success of our open day in August this is an opportunity for the crew and community to reflect on everything we do and the reason we do it, to save lives at sea’.
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Founded in a London tavern on 4 March 1824 following an appeal from Sir William Hillary, who lived on the Isle of Man and witnessed many shipwrecks, the RNLI has continued saving lives at sea throughout the tests of its history, including tragic disasters, funding challenges and two World Wars.
Two centuries have seen vast developments in the lifeboats and kit used by the charity’s lifesavers – from the early oar-powered vessels to today’s technology-packed boats, which are now built in-house by the charity; and from the rudimentary cork lifejackets of the 1850s to the full protective kit each crew member is now issued with.
The RNLI’s lifesaving reach and remit has also developed over the course of 200 years. Today, it operates 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, including four on the River Thames, and has seasonal lifeguards on over 240 lifeguarded beaches around the UK. It designs and builds its own lifeboats and runs domestic and international water safety programmes.
While much has changed in 200 years, two things have remained the same – the charity’s dependence on volunteers, who give their time and commitment to save others, and the voluntary contributions from the public which have funded the service for the past two centuries.
Throughout its bicentenary year, the charity is running events and activities to remember its important history and celebrate the modern lifesaving service it is today, while hoping to inspire generations of future lifesavers and supporters.
For further information about the RNLI’s 200th anniversary, visit
RNLI.org/200.
Notes to Editors
· Statistics from RNLI Operational Data from 4 March 1824 to 31 December 2023 inclusive. A life saved shows how many of the people helped by the RNLI would have lost their life had the RNLI not been there.
· Click here to access the RNLI 200th anniversary media pack, which contains a selection of RNLI archive images from key points in the charity’s history, an RNLI history timeline, and a film of ‘200 years in 200 seconds’ – all of which can be downloaded.
Media contacts
Luke Kierman (Portsmouth Launch Authority & Press Officer) [email protected] or the RNLI press office on 01202 336789 / [email protected].
RNLI online
For more information, please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the RNLI News Centre.
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 over 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and, in a normal year, 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 more than 146,000 lives.
On 4 March 2024, the RNLI celebrated 200 years of saving lives at sea – thanks to volunteers giving their time to save others, all funded by voluntary public donations. Throughout its 200th anniversary year, the charity is running events and activities to commemorate its history, celebrate the lifesaving service it provides today, and inspire generations of future lifesavers and supporters. For more information visit RNLI.org/200.
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.