conserving maritime heritage
Lucy Lavers is a single-screw Liverpool type lifeboat, built in 1940 for Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station. Her first service was the Dunkirk Rescue operation. She later served as a relief Lifeboat at Wells-next-the-Sea and elsewhere on the East Coast. She has been donated to us for restoration by the Dunkirk Little Ships Restoration Trust.
Our first project is to restore Dunkirk Veteran Lucy Lavers to her former glory and our second to take her back to Dunkirk by sea in 2015 for the 75th anniversary encouraging visitors and schools involvement on the way.
We are delighted to have been awarded a Heritage Lottery Grant to restore, film and tell the story of Lifeboat Lucy Lavers .
Lucy Lavers background and photos
Follow the current restoration work on Lucy Lavers
Supporting Lucy Lavers restoration
.JPG "whelker Harvester, photo by David Morris")
CHANCE OF A LIFETIME! Bid for a place on Lucy Lavers return to Dunkirk at 'Boats at Bayfield' event on August 6 4 - 8pm! See details here
Summer Events with Rescue Wooden Boats - see listing here
Our Visitor Centre in Stiffkey (off Greenway, Stiffkey, NR23 1QF) is open during school holidays on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays 10 - 4.00, and during term time on Saturdays and Sundays 10-4.00 MAP SEE OUR SHOP
We welcome volunteers to join the team to help in many ways - do contact us to discuss.
Fishing, boat building and military camp history displays now launched at Visitor Centre See film June EDP article here
We are creating an educational oral history film and photo archive of these working boats (see catalogue of boats) and their stories.
We are filming the tales of the lives of lifeboat crew members who served on Lucy Lavers and other lifeboats who were also the fishermen making their livings using boats like crab boat Pegasus given by Bernard Thain and family, whelker Harvester (above left) from Graeme Peart, crab boat Star from Ernie Dewhurst and a mussel flat from Cyril Southerland. These boats join whelker Bessie and crab boat Black Beauty (above) donated by Andy Frary
We are also filming the restoration of lifeboat Lucy Lavers.
There are now over one hundred films on our website and many collections of photographs lent to us by local families
These will soon be accompanied by education packs for schools to help them use the films and plan visits to see the maritime history and boat restoration.
RESCUE WOODEN BOATS (Registered Charity 1144180) 14 Norton Street, Burnham Norton, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE31 8DR
info@rescuewoodenboats.com www.rescuewoodenboats.com +44 (0) 7920 760238
“North Norfolk Crabber” triptych painting by James Dodds
