Wells Lifeboat News

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Awards Evening

11/6/2022

Crew and guild members and their friends and families met up in the grounds of Wells Cottage Hospital on a lovely summer evening to recognise the long service of some of our volunteers. Many crew members also received the Queen's Platinum Jubilee medal which has been awarded to all frontline emergency services personnel that had completed five full years of service on 6 February 2022.

This was the first such event held several years and recognised achievements not just for 2022 but in 2021 and prior years so we were delighted to be able to welcome back some retired crew and people who have left the station to formerly recognise their contribution to Wells RNLI.

A bar and barbeque followed.

Awards were given for 20 years service to Lifeboat Operations Manager Chris Hardy and Tractor driver and Show crew Kent Cooper, both due in 2021. Crew member Max Phillips also received a 20 year award and Head Launcher Nicky Beck a 30 year award, both due this year. Certificates of service were awarded to past crew members Martyn Flitcroft for over 10 years and to Mick Frary for over 40 years on the lifeboat as a crew member, mechanic and navigator.

A special mention and picture were presented to Dr Gordon McAnsh who retired this year, having served as the station's Lifeboat Medical Advisor from June 2014.

Among the Wells Lifeboat Guide, 20 year service awards were made to Janet Beckett, Hazel Mitchell, Janet Angles, Isobel Camp, Kate Webb, Louise Williams and Margaret Bunting. Marylyn Smith and Linda Ballard were awarded 30 year awards and Sheila Warner for 60 years on the guild.

Platinum Jubilee medals were awarded to Nicky Beck, James Betteridge, Harmen Brouwer, Kent Cooper, Phil Eaglan, Martin Emerson, Martin Few, Mark Frary, Ross Fulford, Chris Hardy, Eric Hart, Nathan Hart, Greg Hewitt, Nicky King, Gordon McAnsh, Kevin Parr, Max Phillips, Peter Rainsford, Danny Roberts, Ray West and Fred Whitaker.

Our thanks to all who helped to support and organise the event, and to Wells Community Hospital for use of their Hive cafe and gardens. A bar and barbeque followed.

David J Cox BEM 1926-2022

Wed 27 Apr 2022

The RNLI station flag is being flown at half-mast in mourning for the renowned Wells lifeboat coxswain, David Cox, who died on Sunday 24 April, aged 96. During his long and distinguished service, he received 5 awards from the RNLI for courage, determination and excellent seamanship.

David was born in Wells-next-Sea in 1926 into a family of fishermen, a life which he inevitably followed. It took him on transatlantic cargo trips to America, fishing for whelks out of Wells harbour, and in time, becoming coxswain of the Wells lifeboat.    

As a boy David would race to the beach when the launch maroons went off from the lifeboat house indicating danger at sea and help to launch the lifeboat. In 1945, at the age of 19, he volunteered as a member of the lifeboat crew, following in another family tradition. In 1960 David took over as Coxswain of the lifeboat from his uncle, William Cox.

His most difficult rescue, for which he was awarded a prestigious silver medal, was on 15 February 1979 for the service to the Romanian cargo ship Savinesti with 29 people on board. The Romanian ship had engine failure eleven miles off the coast of Wells. The weather was so severe that neither the Sheringham nor Cromer lifeboats could reach the ship. The Wells 37ft open lifeboat Ernest Tom Neathercoat launched and David and his crew reached the vessel, despite the lifeboat's radar freezing and poor visibility because of the snow. With the assistance of the Humber lifeboat, which escorted the Savinestito safety, all lives on board the vessel were saved. In summary, David and his crew were at sea for 11 hours 24 minutes that night, in violent storm conditions with very heavy swell and unbelievable seas, poor visibility and sub-zero temperatures.

During his time as Coxswain, he was also awarded a Vellum for the service to yacht Kiskadee in August 1964, a framed letter of thanks for the yacht Kalin in September 1966, a Vellum service to the MFV Pilgrim in tow of the tug Superman in October 1973, a bronze medal for MFV Sarah-K in November 1982 and a framed letter of thanks for service to the tug Dockman in April 1983.

David retired from the lifeboat at the age of sixty in 1986, having handed on his vast knowledge of the sea and seamanship to the volunteer crew members who had joined under him. Before he died, he recorded his memoirs, which have been a fount of knowledge for the RNLI. Wells Lifeboat Operations Manager, Chris Hardy, said "David was an inspiration as Coxswain to all lifeboatmen throughout the Institution, particularly for his courage and unwavering determination to saving lives at sea off our coastline. He actively continued that commitment throughout his retirement years and was a great ambassador for the RNLI, often recalling in great detail the difficult 'shouts' he had taken part in, which totally captivated all those who were listening. David's time served in Wells will never be forgotten and his longstanding contribution to the RNLI will live on in his memory - he was a legend!"

Recruitment event Saturday 26th March postponed

Fri 25 Mar 2022

We have reluctantly cancelled our volunteer recruitment event at Wells Sailing Club due to a number of Covid infections in the town. We are still very much looking for people to help with the new shop and to manage public visits at the new lifeboat station and have rearranged the event for Saturday 30th April from 3-4pm.

We apologise for the short notice and any inconvenience caused.

Help needed! Seeking volunteers for the new boathouse

Thr 10 Mar 2022

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT WILL NOW BE HELD ON SATURDAY 30th APRIL FROM 3-4PM AT WELLS SAILING CLUB. WE RECLUCTANTLY HAD TO CANCEL THE ORIGINAL EVENT ON SATURDAY 26 MARCH DUE TO COVID. 

We will be opening our new lifeboat house at Wells Beach in June in preparation for the arrival of our Shannon class lifeboat Duke of Edinburgh later in the year. We need to recruit new volunteers to join our team at RNLI Wells Lifeboat Station to help us to deliver an excellent visitor experience. We are seeking to fill both lead and supporting roles and if you think this might be for you and can give a minimum of four hours a week to join our expanding and enthusiastic team, we would love to hear from you.

The available positions are listed below and there are links to full details and how to apply, on the main RNLI website.

We will be running a special recruitment day on Saturday 30 April from 3–4pm at Wells Sailing Club where the public can find out more. Members of the RNLI team will be on hand to explain what is involved, what support will be given and what you can expect from the role. If you would like to pre-register your interest in attending this event please email admin@wellslifeboat.org but all are welcome to come along to the sailing club on the day.

• Volunteer Shop Manager/Coordinator
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• Shop volunteers
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• Lifeboat Visits Officer
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• Lifeboat Visits Team Member
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Commander Mike Woodroffe, 1942-2022

Tue 15 Feb 2022

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Lt.-Commander Mike Woodroffe, who died on 8 February 2022 in his 80th year. Mike served in the Merchant Navy from 1958, before joining the Royal Navy. In 1972, he took up a career with the RNLI, where he served as Divisonal Inspector for the South East region from 1975 to 1982 and later as Deputy Chief of Operations before his retirement in 2002. Mike is particularly known for his pioneering work on the design and safe operation of the smaller lifeboats, the D Class inshore lifeboats and Atlantic class. 

Mike retired to Wells where he had previously been involved in his operations capacity with the station and he soon became active in the harbour and community, serving as a Wells Harbour Commissioner from 2004-2012. His involvement with the RNLI continued long after his retirement. Mike was very active in maintaining the important conduit with 'the coast' and looking after the welfare of the retired members of the lifeboat crew and their families who needed support. He will be dearly missed by those who knew him.

His funeral will be held at St Nicholas Church, Wells-Next-the-Sea on Thursday 24 February at 1pm, followed by Cromer Crematorium at 3pm. All are welcome.

Boathouse build - new time-lapse

Tue 8 Feb 2022

Our newly-updated time-lapse video shows the construction of our new boathouse right up to date from its start in October 2020, beginning with the site being cleared, the ground level raised, piling and the building of the concrete slab, and now going right up to the recent addition of external insulation and windows. The building should be finished by the end of May.

The station's new Shannon-class lifeboat will be no. 13-46 and named RNLB 'Duke of Edinburgh' and is currently being built at the RNLI's All-Weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole. The boat will be launched and sea trials conducted in Poole and all being well it is envisaged it will arrive in Wells by the Autumn.

The new lifeboat will carry the names of supporter's loved ones in small type within the RNLI 13 46 lettering and numbers on the hull and on top of the wheelhouse. There are still some spaces available for this if you'd like to Launch A Memory for your loved ones this way.

For more information and photos of the boathouse build, see our boathouse build pages.

Sunday's Carol service CANCELLED

Wed 15 Dec 2021

Unfortunately, a decision has had to be taken to cancel the Christmas Carol Service this coming Sunday due to concerns about Covid. The service will now not take place.

The station would like to thank Neil, Sue and Abi and everyone who had planned and arranged this event, stepping in when our normal carols at the boathouse couldn't be held because of construction work on the new lifeboat station.

Lifeboats gather at Skegness for commemoration

5/12/2021

As a change from a typical Sunday morning exercise, Wells Lifeboat made the short passage to Skegness on 5/12/2021 to meet up with lifeboats from Skegness, Hunstanton, Mablethorpe and the Humber to commemorate long-serving RNLI crew member and Coxswain of Skegness lifeboat Richard 'Watty' Watson. Both Skegness inshore and all-weather lifeboats launched from the beach and there was a short service during which his ashes were scattered. The six lifeboats then formed a line abreast for a 'fly-past' of the beach and lifeboat station, watched from the shore by crew members, families and the public.

Watty joined Skegness lifeboat crew as a vounteer shore helper in 1987 and served at the station for 32 years, taking on many roles including Senior ILB Helm, 2nd Coxswain and eventually Coxswain in 2017.