For more than 200 years, volunteers have launched from Eastbourne’s beaches into storms to save the lives of strangers. The town’s lifeboat story — which begins before the RNLI itself even existed — takes in an eccentric philanthropist, an epic overland rescue, a murdered Victorian actor, and the beaches of Dunkirk. Here’s the remarkable history of Eastbourne’s lifeboats.
“Mad Jack” Fuller and the first lifeboat, 1822
Eastbourne’s lifeboat story begins with one of Sussex’s great characters: John “Mad Jack” Fuller, the larger-than-life squire, MP and philanthropist famous for his follies. After witnessing local fishermen struggling to rescue the crew of a ship called the Thames, which had run aground off Eastbourne in a storm, Fuller concluded the town needed a proper, purpose-built lifeboat — and in 1822 he gave it one. The little ten-oared boat, known as the Samaritan, was launched by fishermen from the Stade, close to where the pier now stands. Remarkably, this makes Eastbourne’s lifeboat service older than the RNLI itself, which wasn’t founded until 1824. Over four decades of service, the Samaritan is credited with saving 55 lives.
A family affair
For generations, the crews were drawn from Eastbourne’s fishing families — and none more so than the Allchorns. Edward Allchorn served as an early coxswain, and his descendants pulled at the oars and took the helm for well over a century afterwards. At one point around 1900, eight of the seventeen men on the crew list came from a single family. It’s a tradition of quiet, hereditary courage that runs through the whole story of the station.
The great overland rescue of 1883
The most celebrated feat in the station’s history happened on 25 November 1883. Word reached Eastbourne that a Norwegian barque, the New Brunswick, was in trouble beneath the cliffs to the west — but the weather was so appalling that launching from Eastbourne’s own beach was impossible. So, in a howling gale and pouring rain, the townspeople did the unthinkable: they hauled the lifeboat overland, up and over the hills to Birling Gap, a gruelling journey of some two and a half hours, before launching her down the cliffs and rescuing all eleven of the barque’s crew. The story of that night is still told with pride in the town today.
The actor’s boathouse
Eastbourne’s most distinctive lifeboat landmark owes its existence to a tragedy far from the sea. In December 1897, William Terriss — one of the most popular actors of the Victorian stage — was stabbed to death at the stage door of London’s Adelphi Theatre. The Daily Telegraph launched a memorial fund in his honour, and the money built the handsome William Terriss Memorial Boathouse on Eastbourne’s seafront near the Wish Tower, opened in 1898. The shingle there proved awkward for storm launches, so a second station was later built along the beach at Fisherman’s Green — but the Terriss boathouse found a wonderful second life: it became the country’s first permanent lifeboat museum, and still houses the Eastbourne Lifeboat Museum today.
Did you know? The Eastbourne lifeboat is even said to have come to the aid of a James Bond film crew, reportedly rescuing filmmakers working off Beachy Head during the making of The Living Daylights in the 1980s.
Dunkirk and the war years
Eastbourne’s motor lifeboat Jane Holland, on station from 1929, became the busiest boat in the station’s history — and its most storied. In March 1940, when the steamer Barnhill was bombed and set ablaze by German aircraft off Beachy Head, the lifeboat took off 28 of her crew; two Eastbourne crewmen, Thomas Allchorn and Alec Huggett, were awarded Bronze Medals for boarding the burning ship to rescue her master. Weeks later came the station’s finest hour: the Jane Holland was one of just 19 lifeboats that crossed the Channel to help evacuate the British Army from the beaches of Dunkirk. Battered and riddled with holes, she made it home, was repaired, and went straight back on service — part of the town’s extraordinary Second World War story.
The modern station
The courage hasn’t dimmed with the technology. In 1997, helmsman Ian Stringer was awarded the RNLI’s Silver Medal for a rescue in ferocious tidal conditions, saving a man clinging to Eastbourne pier. In all, Eastbourne’s crews have earned ten medals for gallantry since 1822. Today the station’s all-weather lifeboat lies afloat at Sovereign Harbour — its home since the 1990s — with an inshore lifeboat kept at Fisherman’s Green, and the volunteer crews remain on call around the clock, every day of the year.
Visit the Eastbourne Lifeboat Museum
The best place to soak up this history is the Lifeboat Museum in the 1898 Terriss boathouse on King Edward’s Parade, beside the Wish Tower. It’s small but full of treasures — medals, photographs, service boards and tales of the great rescues — with an RNLI shop attached, and entry is free (donations to the RNLI are always welcome). It makes a perfect stop on a stroll along the historic seafront.
Good to know: Opening hours can vary with the seasons and volunteer availability, so check with the RNLI before making a special trip.
Eastbourne lifeboats: FAQs
When was Eastbourne’s lifeboat station founded?
In 1822, when John “Mad Jack” Fuller donated the town’s first lifeboat — two years before the RNLI itself was founded in 1824, making it one of the oldest lifeboat services in the country.
Where is the Eastbourne lifeboat station now?
The all-weather lifeboat is based at Sovereign Harbour, with an inshore lifeboat at Fisherman’s Green on the seafront.
Did the Eastbourne lifeboat go to Dunkirk?
Yes — the motor lifeboat Jane Holland was one of 19 lifeboats that took part in the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk in 1940, surviving heavy damage to return to service.
Is the Eastbourne Lifeboat Museum free?
Yes — entry is free, and it’s housed in the historic 1898 William Terriss Memorial Boathouse next to the Wish Tower, sharing the building with an RNLI shop.
More seafaring history: the story of Eastbourne Pier, the lighthouses of Beachy Head, and Eastbourne’s smuggling past.