Walmer Lifeboat Station was established in 1830. Over two thousand ships are believed to have been wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, and the masts of several wrecks are visible from the shore at low tide. Hence there have always been two lifeboats located at the joined towns of Deal and Walmer along the coast opposite the sands.

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Walmer Lifeboat Station
Walmer Lifeboat Station on The Strand, Walmer. Built in 1871
Walmer, Kent
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	Walmer lifeboat station, The Strand, Walmer, Kent, UK
Country	UK
Coordinates	51°12′48.71″N 1°24′10.66″E
Opened	1830
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution

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At Walmer lifeboat station the following RNLI awards have been made:^[5][6]

• RNLI Gold Medal, three,
  • 1830, to Captain P Graham RN, Lt H W Johnson RN and Lt W S Watts RN, and a Silver Medal to John Durban, for rescuing 13 crew from the ship Mountaineer and three boatmen from Deal, on 24 November 1829.

• RNLI Silver Medal, four, including
  • 1859, to John Moss for saving one man from the tender of the lugger Stornoway on 19 December 1858.
  • 1948, to Coxswain Frederick Upton and Bronze Medal to Mechanic Cecil Cavell for rescuing 30 men, including two stowaways, and a dog from the steamer Silvia Onorato aground on the Goodwin Sands. The lifeboat spent 45 hours at sea.
  • 1952, to Coxswain Frederick Upton and Bronze Medal to Mechanic Cecil Cavell for rescuing 38 men from the wreck of the steamer Agen that was aground on the South Goodwin bank, close to three other wrecks from which the Walmer lifeboat had rescued 115 people over the previous six years.

• RNLI Bronze Medal, four, including
  • 1977, to Coxswain Bruce Brown for rescuing the four crew from the sinking cabin cruiser Shark, along with the Second Coxswain who had become trapped in the cabin. Also awarded to Pat Hardman, who, with the aid of Bruce Brown was able to rescue Cyril Williams and the four crew of the ship.

• The Maud Smith Award 1948
  (for the bravest act of lifesaving during the year by a member of a lifeboat crew)
  • 1948, to Coxswain Frederick Upton.

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum, ten, including
  • 1969, to Helmsman Bruce Brown and Crew Members Cyril Williams and John Riley for rescuing four people cut off by the tide.
  • 1970. Along with the Ralph Glister Award, to Helmsman Cyril Williams and Crew Members Leslie Coe and Charles Taylor for rescuing two men cut off by the tide in a cave.
  • 1972, to Coxswain Henry Brown for saving the yacht Nell and her six crew, plus a cat.
  • 1991 to Helmsman Duane Brown for rescuing the three crew from the yacht Josse aground on Goodwin Sands.
  • 2002 to Helmsman Andrew Coe, Adam Cowell and Philip Brenchly for the rescue of the 32 ft yacht Thai Thai off the Goodwin Sands.

• A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution, six, including
  • 1978, to Coxswain Bruce Brown and Second Coxswain Cyril Williams for refloating the vessel Elmela off the Goodwin Sands.
  • 1985, to Helmsman Anthony Evans for rescuing two men who were cut off by the tide after their canoe had capsized.
  • 1991, to crew members John Collins and Shaun East for the Josse rescue.

• Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)
  • 2023, to Denis Brophy, Lifeboat Operations Manager^[7]

• In 1997 a special award went to Pat Hardman, for his 27½ years of volunteer work for the RNLI in Deal, in which time he saved 119 lives from shipwreck.
• In 2005 a special award went to Les Coe, for his 50 years of volunteer work for Walmer Lifeboat during which time he served as a crew member and Head Launcher.

• List of RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats