Little and Broad Haven lifeboat station

button-theme-womenlink_to_french_translationLittle and Broad Haven lifeboat station

little_and_broad_haven_lifeboat_houseThe RNLI established a lifeboat station, named Littlehaven, in 1882. The lifeboat was kept afloat, in a sheltered position under Goldtrop Head, until a new boathouse and slipway were built in 1903. The station closed in 1921 because of difficulty finding crew members, and neighbouring stations could cover the area.

The station reopened, with a D-class inshore lifeboat, in 1967 as boating and watersports grew in popularity. The old photo, courtesy of the RNLI, shows the boathouse of that era. A new boathouse was built in 1992.

In 1995 the RNLI awarded a bronze medal to helmsman Crispin Williamson and Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum to crew members Brian Dilly and David Love for rescuing a family of six cut off by the tide at the foot of North Haven cliffs. The family’s dinghy had been swamped in heavy seas and deteriorating weather.

little_haven_vivienne_grey_rnliHelmsman Crispin Williamson received a Framed Letter of Thanks in 2004, after the D-class lifeboat saved three children cut off by the tide at the bottom of a cliff at Little Haven.

Crew member Vivienne Grey (pictured, courtesy of the RNLI) was awarded the MBE in the 2017 New Year’s Honours list. She was directly credited with saving eight lives and had notched up more than 120 lifeboat call-outs, as well as coordinating training at the lifeboat station.

She celebrated 30 years’ service with the RNLI in 2020. One of her rescues, in 2004, involved getting the lifeboat close to the base of a cliff – despite very rough seas – for a small boy to be rescued. In 2015 she used her knowledge of the local coast and her boating skills to find two young children who had been spotted clinging to an open kayak. They were rescued moments before they would have drowned.

The lifeboat service in the UK is provided not by government but by the RNLI, a charity which relies on donations from the public. Since it was established in 1824, the RNLI is estimated to have saved c.140,000 lives. It employs some crew members but most, 40,000 in total, are volunteers who leave their work, families or beds whenever their lifeboat is needed.

Postcode: SA62 3UF    View Location Map

RNLI website

RNLI on HistoryPoints.org

Wales Coastal Path Label Navigation anticlockwise buttonNavigation clockwise button