Historic Hastings Lifeboat sign stolen

The sign was removed from where the lifeboat is on display at the bottom of Old London Road, sometime on Sunday/Monday. Dee Day White, who with Tush Hamilton was responsible for restoring the historic vessel, said: “This was not an opportunist theft. The sign weighs around a hundred-weight and would take two men to carry and a large vehicle to get it from the site. They must have come equipped with tools. It’s a mystery as to who would want to steal this. It’s not as though you can sell it and if you put something like that in your garden the chances are that somebody would see it.”

He added: I am reporting it to the police today (Tuesday) and hopefully they will investigate. It is disheartening when you think of all the local effort and care that has gone on to put the lifeboat on display and create the sign. It is also very disrespectful – that boat has saved many lives at sea.”

The boat is one of two historic lifeboats on display in Hastings Old Town, the other is the Lillian and Cyril Bishop, which is on show opposite All Saints Church. That boat is also known as the Ghost of Dunkirk, for the role it played in rescuing many troops from the beaches in war-torn France during the Second World War.

The Priscilla MacBean was bought by Old Town resident Dee-Day White and Tush Hamilton after being found rotting in a field near Eastbourne, and restored on Hastings beach by the pair and an army of volunteers over the the course of a year. It was sister boat to the Mary Stanford, the Rye lifeboat which was tragically lost with all hands on November 15, 1928 when 17 crew members died.

In 2018, the Priscilla MacBean was fitted with a new mast and sails that were hand-made by Tush Hamilton. The mast was made on Hastings beach to precise specifications by local boat-builder Steve Barrow.

The boat has been on display at its Old London Road dry dock since 2014. A few years ago local school children were joined by residents of Old Hastings House, for a party at the site to mark its 90th birthday.

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