Lifeboatmen retire

A CHAPTER in the history of the Newhaven Lifeboat ends this month as three long-serving members hang up their lifejackets for the last time.

Coxswain Mike Beach, assistant mechanic Brian Ashdown, and crew member Chris Bird are all retiring. Between them they have more than 75 years of service with the RNLI.

During their time they risked their lives and had some fun along the way.

Mike, 55, of Hillcrest Road, joined the crew in June 1975. He became the boat s mechanic in 1985 and coxswain in March 1988. Married to Pat, they both serve on the Newhaven and District Lifeboat Society fund raising committee.

In treacherous seas Mike and the crew came to the aid of the Dutch schooner Eendracht in 1998. He said: 'The conditions were bad but the team pulled through and helped the helicopter rescue team as well as they could.

But there were comic moments as well, like the time the crew were scrambled on their way to a fancy dress party dressed as punk rockers. Mike said: 'A bunch of the men were on their way to a fancy dress party when we got the call to go out on a rescue and didn t have time to change. They turned up with chains, died hair and loads of leather. The people we were rescuing didn t know what to say!

Brian, 54, of Hillcrest Road, joined the crew in December 1975 after being rescued by the Lifeboat. He is married to Marilyn who serves on the Lifeboat Society committee. They have three daughters, Karen, Alison and Julie.

When the Athena B ran aground in Brighton in 1980 the Newhaven crew responded.

Overboard

Brian said: 'The sea was so rough, we got caught inside a wave and one of the crew got thrown overboard. He hung on to the boat and we managed to hook him back in. The boat was almost overturned.

Chris Bird, 55, joined the crew in July 1982. He runs Teleview, a TV rental/repair business in Bridge Street, with his brother Brian.

In the great storm of 1987 he and the crew braved Force 11 winds to rescue a French boat, which was sinking six miles off the coast of Newhaven. Chris said: 'The wind was really strong, but against the odds we managed it. It was a great feeling to save the crew and to rescue their boat. It s what the job s about.

And saving three oil-stricken guillemots was a tricky affair. 'It was so funny. We were hanging over the side of the boat with the nets trying to catch the birds, but they kept swimming away.

'There were about 10 people trying to get them, but we got them in the end, said Chris.

The three men will celebrate their retirement with a farewell party, with family and friends, at the Villa Adriana in Newhaven on February 9.