Plans submitted for new building to house historic Hastings lifeboat

The lifeboat has an illustrious history, not only for the role she played saving lives off the coast of Hastings between 1931 and 1950, but for the important part she played in evacuating Allied troops from the war-torn beaches of Dunkirk in May 1940.

She is officially registered as one of the ‘Dunkirk Little Ships’ and earned the nickname ‘The Ghost of Dunkirk’ due to her appearing out of the mist during the evacuation.

The boat was rescued from a yard in France, brought back to Hastings and restored to her former glory by Dee Day White, Tush Hamilton and a band of dedicated volunteers. She is currently on display opposite All saints Church in the Old Town.

When the winter covers came off in June she was found to have deteriorated. A carpenter inspecting her had his foot go through the rotten deck.

Now Dee Day and Tush want to move her to Rock-a-Nore and build a wooden structure to house her, close to the Grade 2 listed net huts in what will become a lifeboat museum.

Until August this year, the site was home to the fishing boat RX 134. But the boat, built in the 1940’s, had badly deteriorated due to the weather and had become a safety risk so it had to be broken up and removed.

The site is an area of beach 17 metres in width and 13.5 metres in depth and lies within the Old Ton Conservation area.

The application is for a simple timber framed building and states the new lifeboat building will ‘make a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area.’

A concrete or paved path would give disabled access to visitors.

Over its 19 years of service with the RNLI, the Cyril and Lilian Bishop lifeboat put to sea in emergencies 99 times, rescuing 34 lives. After she was brought back to Hastings and restored, on June 14, 2017, the lifeboat was hauled up All Saints Street to its dry dock at the junction of Harold Road and The Bourne.

The application states: “Regrettably, after a period of six years standing in the open, and despite regular maintenance and repair, the weather has had such a deteriorating effect on the boat that she will inevitably be lost unless she can be moved somewhere dry. An interior location is a must if this valuable and historic vessel is to be saved.”

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