From 1803 when a Lifeboat Station was first established at Rye Harbour, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s Committee of Management has awarded among other things three Gold Medals and six Silver Medals for bravery and a framed letter of appreciation. That is a total of 217 years of saving lives at sea.

The “Mary Stanford Lifeboat” was placed on service at Rye Harbour in 1916. She was a non-self-righting 14 oar pulling and sailing Liverpool class surf boat chosen by the crewmen for the conditions at Rye Harbour.

She was donated at a cost of £5,000 by a Mr. John F. Stanford of Regents Park following the death of his beloved mother Mary and named in her honour. John was also to donate money for the building of the Mary Stanford Wing at his local hospital at Paddington. This hospital wing is still saving lives today, whilst on the 15th November 1928 the lifeboat Mary Stanford was to capsize with the loss of all 17 crewmen, and was to be the biggest loss of life from a single lifeboat in the history of the RNLI.

A tablet of black marble and Manx stone the border interlacing based on the design of Manx crosses was given by the people of the Isle of Man and placed inside the Church having been previously unveiled by Sir Claude Hill, Governor of the Isle of Man On 24th June 1929. Funds were collected and three years later the memorial designed by James Wedgwood was unveiled by Lord Blanesburgh during a service of dedication attended by thousands once again. (Lord Blanesburgh also paid for a memorial window in St. Thomas’s Church Winchelsea which was dedicated on Saturday 21st October 1933), but one person who would not be present at that unveiling was Julia Pope three of whose sons had perished, and was dead herself before the first anniversary. She was lovingly laid to rest close to her boys, and Tom Pope, who I was to meet years later lost his mother and three older brothers to that tragedy.

So, each year on the Sunday after Remembrance Sunday the village of Rye Harbour honours their heroes who so many are related to. The Mary Stanford Memorial Service has been held since the disaster, except for the years during World War 2. Families, friends, and strangers come to pay their respects to the 17 brave men of Rye Harbour, who gave their lives, whilst attempting to rescue others.