RNLI Station History · East Anglia
Southend on Sea Lifeboat Station
© Colin Smith · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Established1879
RNLI From1879
Gallantry Medals13
StatusActive 24/7
| Inshore Lifeboats | |
|---|---|
| Launch Method | Davit |
| Address | Southend Pier, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS1 1EE |
| Telephone | 01702 613151 |
RNLI Station Histories Guidebook
Print · Kindle · PDF from £4.99
RNLI Station Histories Guidebook
Explore two centuries of RNLI lifeboat history, heroic rescues, and the enduring tradition of saving lives at sea.
Southend-on-Sea guards the outer Thames Estuary from the end of its 1¼-mile pier — the longest pleasure pier in the world. Established in 1879, the station meets the estuary’s vast tidal sands with an unusual fleet: an Atlantic 85, two D-class lifeboats and a rescue hovercraft.
The RNLI established a station at Southend in 1879 to help vessels grounding on the Nore, Leigh Middle and other sands at the mouth of the Thames. Because launching across the huge drying foreshore took time, a lifeboat was stationed at the end of the pier, where the station remains; crews reach it by an electric buggy along the pier.
